Love looms in times of war
by gppr
Summary: Set after Robotech New Generation. What would happen if Marlene Ariel took a more proactive role in finding Scott?
1. Just Go

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 1  
_Just go._**

▬▬▬▬

He remembered her. He often did, ever after he left Earth. Sometimes, he would see her face in a passing stranger. Others, he would recognize her voice among random whispers.

A year had passed. He pictured her happy, with a good guy, not one as stupid as him. The bitter pain of knowing that it was his fault stung him. She probably had forgotten about him by now. Could he blame her? He should probably try to do the same: forget.

Before the war started anew, he had dated once or twice. But it always ended the same way. He couldn't keep pretending he was interested. He told himself he hadn't tried, really tried.

Inadvertently, imaginary sights and sounds of her came to him again. It was nonsense. He pushed the thoughts away. He had to leave when he did and fulfill his military duty. She was an Invid and he couldn't have those feelings for her. It could not be. He felt the pull of mistrust and revenge engulfing him, and also memories of his deceased fiancee.

Mars Base was a pocket full of mementos. Everything there reminded him about the original Marlene. The taste of a furtive kiss, stolen at a random corner or the sensation of her tiny figure against him still lingered in his mind. He had been sure that they would build a life together. No one could have predicted the tragic end to those romantic plans.

She died while he watched, in agony. And the pain was still there, but Scott knew it had diminished over time. A day would come when he would truly feel it was behind him. That was, of course, if death didn't get him first.

▬▬▬▬

The group swam and played at the beach. Earth's beaches were one of the most breathtaking things the humanoid Invid Ariel had ever seen. She loved being there and best of all, surrounded by good friends, yet she felt lonely. She always did. Sera's presence helped her, especially after she became competent enough with her Invid abilities to communicate telepathically with her.

When she decided to stay behind and not follow her race, Ariel tacitly accepted a life of loneliness -loneliness in the Invid's sense. The comfortable numbness of the collective Invid conscience fell out of her reach. She told herself she could bear that. What she couldn't deal with was his departure. Now she was lonely in the human sense as well. She sighed. _Scott_.

In between her thoughts about him, Ariel got pieces of the conversations going on around her. Annie was excited. Sera had caught the teen admiring "the scenery", an assorted variety of local "specimens". Elsewhere, Rand and Rook seemed to fight and make up in a series of rapid successions. Ariel smiled. Lunk and Lancer had been discussing politics. She wasn't paying much attention until the conversation shifted to the ongoing war near Mars.

"The REF is loosing men by the hundreds. I've heard that the enemy comes out of nowhere and blasts our mecha before the instruments can even detect them."

"Well, I've heard no current technology is really capable of detecting them."

"Really?"

"That's what I heard, but I hope it's just a rumor."

"One thing's for sure, they attack mercilessly and are impeding the rescue of the SDF-3."

"Yes, but why? What could they be after?"

"Power. Domination. A mysterious and unknown energy form." Lunk snorted, catching on Lancer's sarcasm. "Who really knows? Anything could be used as an excuse."

"Without reinforcements, I don't know how long Mars' gonna hold."

"Yeah, I wonder how ol' soldier Scott's doing up there."

That last phrase wasn't lost on Ariel. _Scott could be hurt; worse: dead, floating adrift in space. _She stood up abruptly.

"I think I'll go for a jog, I need some exercise," she said and took off. She set course following the water and ran until she was breathless. Her friends knew what had just happened, but didn't stop her, she needed to be alone.

She sat on the humid sand gasping. As her breathing gained normalcy, she forced herself to think about happier times. Nothing came to her. Hadn't there been any happier times?

Images. Situations. Laughter. _Yes_. From the well of her distant memory, remembrance crept to the surface. Like that time when Rand dragged Scott to swim while the latter was in his space-suit. He sat next to her on the beach after stumbling out of the salty water. He was completely embarrassed. _Helpless. Cute_. She smiled softly. It had been on another beach like this one, white and warm, so long ago.

The wind toyed with grains of sand, eroding tiny dunes. Ariel's smile dissolved as well.

_He might never come back. _

▬▬▬▬

Death's terrible halo sparkled on the collection of robotech mecha. Metallic fuselages reflected a battle's bright signature. Smoldering beams came at them one after another, hitting and missing their intended targets. Yet the ships where they had originated kept invisible. Barely escaping the unrelenting enemy attack, Commander Bernard was in the midst of a losing situation.

It had been weeks and no instrument was able to track the the enemy. Not a blip on the radar. Not even a dot on the screen. However, for the bare eye, the adversary's ships were visible, if only as starless shadows in the vacuum. Every pilot was flying in the dark, relaying solely on the accuracy and speed of his or hers nature-given vision.

Regardless of the disadvantage, the soldiers of the expeditionary forces faced their foes and suffered heavy loses each time. As Scott dodged the deadly fire one extra lucky time, he wondered when would it be his time to go?

▬▬▬▬

Rook found her staring blankly at the ocean. The blond knew what or whom Ariel was thinking about and she was sick of seeing her friend like that.

She approached and sat next to the red-haired woman.

"Hey, Marlene," she said startling her lightly.

"Hi, Rook," she replied thinking of the name Rook had just called her. _Marlene. _Scott had given her that name when they first met; when by a twist of faith, she couldn't remember who or what she truly was.

"The guys are worried about you. You've been gone for more than an hour. Are you okay?"

"Was it that long?" Rook nodded. "I'm sorry, I lost track of time. I'm fine, I was about to come back."

"Sure," said Rook unconvinced. "Don't you take long, all right? We'll be leaving soon. Rand says a storm's coming."

"I wont, I promise," she smiled weakly. Rook started to walk back but suddenly, she stopped.

_Okay, enough of this!_ "Marlene," she said backtracking on her steps. "Why don't you just go find him?"

"What?" Marlene was shocked.

"Well, I know what's happening to you. It's been a year and you are still thinking about him! I've seen you turning down every guy that asked you out. Your last excuse was something: 'I only date vegetarians.' Give me a break!" the blond said laughing. Marlene smiled. "Not that the neighborhood is thriving with cute guys, but there have been some... Anyway, if you can't stop thinking about Scott, hell, just go after him! Who knows, there's a chance the trip shook some sense into him."

"Rook, I..." stammered Marlene .

"You're seeing life pass by you instead of living. I can't see you like that with my arms crossed. You gotta do something, Marlene! Take that nail out of your life or push it deeper, but don't stay in limbo. Who knows when that dense-headed Scott's gonna get his ass down here."_ If he ever does_. "Don't wait anymore!"

"What should I do? I mean, what can I do? He's on Mars... maybe married for all I know."

"I doubt that," replied Rook quickly. "He has it in for you as bad as you have it for him."

"You really think so?" The blond nodded.

"Enlist Marlene, that for sure will get you a trip to the red planet."

"Uh, I guess I could try to get there... But me, enlist! I couldn't... I can't..." babbled Marlene.

"With the huge losses the REF is taking up there, the military is desperate for new recruits. I've heard anyone willing to enlist is accepted. Anyone, Marlene, even Invid."

"Really?"

"Well, I'm not certain, but a friend of mine told me the REF is particularly looking for Invid recruits for a special project. He said that the few that came forward were granted freedom from prosecution. If it is true, it can be your chance!"

"I... I don't know... I'm not sure I can fight."

"We'll help you," insisted Rook.

"But there is a war going on. Scott is busy there, Rook. Seeing me is probably the last thing on his mind."

"Humanity has been at war for more than thirty years. And by the way things are looking, it might be thirty more before we enjoy some peace and quiet. Who knows if we'll survive. Stick-in-the-mud and you will have to find the time to deal with your feelings when you get up there. It could be your last opportunity."

Marlene appraised Rook's words. _Our last opportunity._ She looked at the ocean, blue and endless. While her eyes absorbed the sight, she wondered what did his eyes see on Mars? Was it possible that he thought about her at all? What would he say when they met again? What would she say?

"Now come on, it's time you stop lamenting. Let's go," she added and dragged Marlene back to the others.

As Rand had predicted, it started pouring.

▬▬▬▬

"I'm glad we're all together," Rook announced. Her friends were drying from the soaking rain inside a cabin. "Marlene's gonna enlist and we have to help her," she blurted out as if there wasn't anything particular about it.

"What?" let out Annie.

"She's joining the REF, basically to go to Mars, Annie. Right Marlene?" she said looking at the woman in question. Marlene was too surprised to answer.

"What are you talking about, Rook?" pressed an unbelieving Rand.

"She... she can't go there! She could be caught!" said Annie worried.

"Not necessarily, Annie. The REF is recruiting Invid," put in Lunk.

"So you've heard that too?" asked Rook. Lunk nodded.

"All this for Scott!" complained Rand. "He hurt you Marlene. You'll be putting your heart on the line again!"

She looked down. "Uh... he had his reasons, Rand."

"Do you think those have changed?" Rand continued.

"Rand, leave her alone! Scott is in love with her, you know it. He just wouldn't admit it," said Rook.

"Scott forgot about us, Marlene." offered Lunk.

"You truly don't think that, Lunk. Scott's a good friend, he's just too busy with what's going on," countered Lancer. Rook agreed. "And besides," he added, "I myself wonder if some of us shouldn't be joining him up there." Sera gave him a significant look.

"More fighting? You must be kidding, Lancer?" Rand shook his head. "We got more than our share during the Invid war."

"We didn't go out there looking for trouble, Rand. This new enemy is keeping the SDF-3 hostage and menaces to bring violence to Earth once more. At some point it will become our duty to defend the planet. Maybe it'll be better to do it sooner rather than later."

"No, no, no! Someone say something! You can't be thinking of leaving!" Annie pleaded, but no one replied. "Sera! Marlene will listen to you, you gotta say something!"

"She should go," the green haired Invid declared simply. _Maybe we all should._ She held Lancer's hand. Then in a mental whisper: _Let your body join your thoughts wherever they have wandered, sister. _

All eyes were on Marlene. "Do you really want to go?" asked Rand.

"Uh-huh," she declared lastly, while a hint of hope shone in her eyes.

▬▬▬▬

For related fan art, visit my website.


	2. Letters

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 2  
_Letters_**

_--------------_

For 45 minutes she waited for a chance to use one of the public computer terminals. She would have liked a little more privacy, but the barracks didn't offer that privilege to any recruit. She was lucky though, and got to use the last booth in the back -which allowed as much isolation as that crowded area would ever give. The woman sat down and hurried to start her letter, she only had a few minutes.

_Dear Rook,_

_I've officially survived my second week of bootcamp!_

_I'm learning a lot about myself and others like me. Did you know that both Human and Invid bodies have over 600 muscles? Our trainer makes sure that each of them gets exercised. He's doing a good job, judging by the way my whole body aches. Not that I'm complaining; I'm getting strong! Today in martial art class, I managed to hit my opponent really hard. I'll be kicking enemy butt up on Mars; you'll be proud of me! I hope someone else will too. :)_

_They've divided us into groups of ten. Invid and Human are apart. The instructors said that the programs have to be different because of our physiologies. But the difference isn't that big. The Regiss made us very close to your kind, after all. Not close enough though, I feel sometimes._

_I can't help but think the separation has more to do with the general discontentment among Humans about Invid being allowed to enlist. I can only hope that one day your kind wont look at us with such distrust. I hope things get better when we fight this new enemy together. _

_Oh, I have to go, my time at the terminal is up. Sorry if this letter is short. I'll write some more soon. _

_Waiting to know how everyone is doing there, _

_Marlene_

_--------------_

Things had been quiet for the last couple of days. The stillness was making Commander Bernard uncomfortable. _They must be planing something,_ he thought worriedly and was not far from the truth. But this period of enemy inactivity had allowed the Robotech Defense Forces to take a much needed break.

Scott entered the operations control room impatient to receive news about the reinforcements he had requested. The wounds the enemy had inflicted on the forces were deep; both personnel and mecha were earnestly needed. A steady but shrinking stream of new recruits was shuttled regularly from the moon, but the steep rate of casualties was devouring the fresh supply too quickly. It took time to train recruits, time the forces didn't have. Most units' rosters were growing thin. As well, mechanics were working double and triple shifts to get alphas and betas ready. But there were limits; a tired technician could be as harmful to a pilot's life as an invisible enemy.

"Sir," lieutenant Hopkins approached Scott. "Moon base has answered you request," she extended a hand held device to him. Her hands were shaking.

_Must be bad news,_ he anticipated out of the lieutenant's reaction and took the device from her. He read the letter. All the time, she looked at him intently. He glanced back and noticed faint dark circles under her green eyes. The effects of tiredness were showing on everyone. She seemed startled when she realized his eyes were on her._ Did she just blush? _He shook the thought; he was tired, too.

"Thank you lieutenant," he sighed, "It seems the moon can't send us more reinforcements for now."

"I'm sorry, sir," she said avoiding his eyes.

"We'll have to do," he shrugged and returned the device. She took it, touching his hand slightly. For a second, their sights connected.

He blinked confused. _Did she just smile at me?_ he wondered while the lieutenant walked away. _Nah... You better get yourself some strong coffee, Bernard, _he told himself, repressing one big yawn.

_--------------_

_Hey there,_

_I'm so glad for Rook and Rand! That is amazing! I'm so excited. The only sad thing is that I won't be there for the baby's birth. But I'll get down there as soon as I can. Do you know if it's a boy or a girl yet?_

_I'm sorry that I haven't written much lately. They are keeping us very busy. Phase two of the training program started a week ago. We were shuttled to the moon and assigned new barracks. All of us (Invid) had to go through thorough health checks. The moon houses the RDF's biggest medical facility. It made me nervous, but I guess the more the scientists know about us, the better they will be able to take care of us when we are wounded. _

_Things are going well up here otherwise, but I'm exhausted. I really miss you all, I feel lonely but I'm trying to make friends with other recruits. _

_It's interesting to learn how others like me came to the decision of staying on Earth. The pull of human emotions was so strong. Some told me they had been at Reflex Point on the day the Expeditionary Forces came back. A lot were experiencing confusion, so strong it rendered them helpless. The Regiss must have felt it. I wonder if her decision to leave had to do with it. Things were different for me. Although I felt these raging emotions, I wasn't on my own to deal with them, I was lucky to have you to learn from. _

_I've gotten to know more about Ciele, with whom I share my quarters, her friend Kooren and also Uld. We are all in the same unit. They are very new to human culture, but they are learning fast -at least Ciele and Kooren. We're going sightseeing on our next day off. They are very excited and so am I, all in all. There are so many things to see in this place! Uld refused to come with us, he is a bit serious and wasn't impressed with the idea. I understand him, though. It is hard to think of anything else than looming war._

_I hope I'll be able to introduce them to you one day and that you'll show them the kindness that you showed me. _

_As time goes by, I'm getting more and more nervous about all this. I don't know, I just hope my being here won't make things worse. _

_Please keep the news coming. I can't stand not knowing about all of you. Please tell me how is my sister and how is Lancer; give my love to Annie and tell her not to worry. _

_Hugs for all of you, _

_Marlene Ariel_

_--------------_

_Security Clearance MB05-S908 Access Restricted  
Level 4 Decryption Key Required_

_General, _

_I am pleased to inform you that the physiological data collection on the Invid recruits has been successful. Our pilot-mecha integration program is advancing as planed. The computer simulated testing phases were completed yesterday. You will find results attached. Live subject testing will commence shortly._

_Sincerely,_

_Research and Development Chief Officer 0023  
Moon Base_

_--------------_

_Hi gang,_

_I made it! I completed the training program and I'm a member of the Robotech Forces! The ceremony was today. I have my certificate with me but I still can't believe it really happened! I thought I couldn't make it. Thank you all for believing in me. Your letters and support helped a lot._

_I got assigned to a new (all Invid) unit. We are 15. Kooren and Uld will be on the same group, I'm happy about that. Ciele will remain here on the moon. I'll miss her, we have gotten to know each other well, but I'm glad she'll be away from the dangers of the war. I know it is selfish, but I wish at least my friends were safe._

_We'll be departing for Mars within a week. You probably have already heard that the situation over there is bad. The casualty reports keep coming in and the numbers, mounting up. Every time a new list becomes available, my heart sinks. I don't know what I'd do if his name ever shows up on one. _

_It will sound crazy, but I can't wait to get to the front. I'm not eager to join the war, but I can't wait to see him. I can't stand the idea of something happening to him, the idea of everything ending before we have at least one last chance to talk. _

_I don't know how Scott's going to take this, but I have to get to Mars and help end this. I know it's hard to understand why I decided to get myself into this situation. Lancer told me once that there are some decisions one must make with one's heart and not one's head. This is one of those. _

_Please, just try to wish this insane friend of yours luck._

_May we see each other again, _

_Ariel_

_--------------_

He was tired to the bone. His unit had been out there ten times in less than 20 hours. After attacking fiercely and causing severe damage, the enemy had retreated. Every healthy pilot was ordered to get some rest. The enemy wouldn't take long to come back.

As warm water traveled down his body, relaxing the tension all over his muscles, Scott Bernard thought of the families of the men he had lost that day. Writing death-notification letters was something every CO loathed.

And there were so many to write, piling up every day. Their agonizing faces were in the officer's dreams in the beginning; by now, numbness was taking him over. He came out of the shower, dried himself and put on a clean set of clothes. When he finished rubbing his wet hair with a towel, he sat in front of the computer terminal in his quarters.

He went thought the files of the deceased, reviewed their history and their accomplishments. Against his will, they started to seem the same. Mathiews, Popescu, Ryan, Gomez and Zee -her real name had been Zephaniah- had all been good pilots, all young, all eager. All dead now.

Hopefully soon, new recruits would take over spots left by casualties; new recruits with no experience, most likely not to make it back from their first skirmish. He remembered the fate of the entire Mars 21th division. Its first battle against the Invid had been its last.

_Is this whole new campaign hopeless?_ Commander Bernard started to wonder, but he quickly rejected the thought. There had to be a way to beat this enemy, the RDF had to keep fighting. And in the midst of it all, his mind searched for memories of better times. Images flowed, unconsciously and surprisingly; memories of earth came, memories of her.

He started one of many letters. _"Dear Mr. and Mrs. Mathiews... " _He stopped, his mind wanted to go some place else; it wanted to escape the falling veil of endless death. _"It is with great sadness that..."_ he forced the words out but a pause came, again. He needed to write, but to someone else.

"_Marlene," _he started anew. _No, _that wasn't her name.

"_Ariel," _he decided, and all came running out, like liquid from a tipped and open bottle.

_Ariel, this letter may surprise you, a long time has passed since we saw each other last. There are many things I want to say, things I'd hoped I would tell you face to face, but things aren't getting any better here. I must say those things now because I don't know when or if I'll be back on earth._

_I'm sorry for many things, but most of all for the way I reacted. Discovering the truth was hard on all of us -perhaps I should just say it was hard on me- but I know it was as hard on you. I wish things had been different, that I had been more supportive; that for once, I had followed my heart and gone after you when you ran. _

_I can't tell you I wouldn't have left in the end. I couldn't ignore my duty then, and now even less so; I have to fulfill it. For that, I'm sorry too. _

_Please know that I think of you often. In all honesty I've tried not to. I hope you are all right. I like to imagine that you are safe down there, surrounded by friends who will be able to look after you. _

_Still, I feel confusion. I wish I could tell you exactly what my feelings are, but I don't know. One day, if I make it back somehow and if you want, you could help me sort things out._

_Until then, take care of yourself. Please._

_Scott._

Letting the words out brought him relief. He was about to send the letter when a thought stopped him. He stared at the screen in front of him, pondering what to do, wondering how she would react. And how would he send it, anyway... His mind found the answer quickly; he could ask Lancer to deliver it to her. _Yes. _Lancer would understand... would he? He would have to explain... _Ah, what the hell._

"_Lancer..." _he started.

_--------------_

The trip was long and uncomfortable. The shuttle descended and deposited its heavy weight on Mars Base's docking bay. Inside the transport, eager recruits waited for the hatch to open; among them were new Invid units. They were the forces' new hope against a seemingly unbeatable enemy.

Behind an invisible barrier, Ariel saw Mars' bright red surface, but further, up against infinite blackness, she saw myriad explosions. At last, she had reached war's doorstep, at last she had reached him.

_--------------_

For related fan art, visit my website.


	3. Skirmish

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 3  
_Skirmish_**  
_--------------_

Mars Base wasn't exactly a welcoming place. Personnel scrambled though its entirety since, just as expected, the enemy had attacked again. The constant flow of military and techs was dizzying. Along the the rest of newly arrived recruits, Ariel, Kooren and Uld were given ten minutes to find their quarters, drop their personal belongings and regroup. Immediately after, they were brought to the launching area and ordered to stand by. Their alphas were the same model they'd used in the simulator, but facing the actual cold, bulky machines was a daunting experience for most newbies.

Due to the lack of real combat experience, it was decided that the fresh arrivals would sit the first skirmish out. If battle continued for long, however, they would have to join in. At the moment, Wizard and Raider squadrons were holding the enemy off.

_--------------_

"What a first day!" said Kooren just before dropping her tired self onto her new bed. "If I had to stay in that cockpit one more minute I would have been forever frozen in that position." Her roommate smiled. Kooren was trying to develop a sense of humor.

"I think a warm shower can help your muscles," Ariel offered.

"Good idea. Warm showers, amazing human invention! Along shampoo and moisturizing conditioner..." said the Invid, while studying a strand of her dry teal hair.

"What about chocolate?" asked Ariel, remembering Kooren's growing addiction to the brown, sweet substance.

"Chocolate aside, of course. That reminds me, I have some in my bag. Want a piece? We deserve it."

"Sure."

"So, when do you think that you are going to see him?"

"I did, already. He was with the pilots of one of the squadrons that landed while we waited."

"Oh! Did he see you?"

"No."

"Aw, well... But chances are you'll cross paths again any day in a public area."

"Yes," said Ariel and let out a deep sad sigh.

"That would be a good thing, right?" Kooren was intrigued by her friend's reaction.

"Uh... maybe not," was the puzzling reply.

"You still want talk to him? Don't you?"

"Yes, but... we didn't really part in good terms. I hope... I just don't want to meet him at a bad time, like before a battle, for one. That could complicate things... I think."

"Oh. But wouldn't the human appreciate you fighting alongside him?"

"He doesn't exactly remember me as a fighter."

"I see what you mean. He may think that you'd hinder his mission."

"Yes," Ariel said, fearing it would be more than that.

"It would be to your advantage to learn where to find the human before he finds you by accident. You must explain that you can fight now."

Ariel wished things were as simple as Kooren saw them. "I hope he gives me that chance," she replied, visibly nervous. Kooren didn't fully understand what love meant but grasped that it sure was a powerful force to be moving Ariel in that way.

"There isn't anything you can do right now. Rest your mind, Ariel. Seems a warm shower will help you more than me. Go first."

"No, go ahead, I'm fine."

"Yeah, right!" Kooren pushed Ariel towards the door, handing her a towel on the way. "See you when you're clean, ensign!" Ariel smiled a little as the door closed behind her. She still missed Ciele and wished she could be as strong as Rook or Sera, but as she headed toward the showers, she was thankful for having a friend close to her.

_--------------_

The bespectacled scientist read the information displayed on a luminous screen before her. She went over the performance and vital signs of the Invid pilots during training. Charts and graphs showed that units 01, 06 and 07 were stable, unit 03's performance was good, but the levels of stress on its brain were slightly high. She made a note: _Further analysis required_. Then, she proceeded to study mechanical data collected from new mecha. All had ran as expected. The new machines' full potential couldn't be reached at this stage, but things would change soon.

In a few days, suitable subjects would be chosen to receive implants. These devices would merge the Invid neural system to their mecha in a way more advanced than what the Regiss had already achieved with her stage fives. _They will win this war for us_, she thought, eying the thin and sparkling appendages of a neural implant behind its miniature forcefield. The protective green halo reminded her about the danger of the device's radiation. Late professor Harold Groen, its inventor, had come to discover it the unfortunate way. But no further human lives would be lost because of it. She had advanced the research and made sure that the burden was set upon the aliens.

While she recorded her findings and transmitted them over an encrypted channel, she smiled.

_--------------_

Commander Bernard walked briskly toward the hangars along with his squadron. He had been informed earlier about new pilots joining in with his unit and ordered to take them on a reconnaissance exercise. He was glad to get reinforcements at last, but his enthusiasm dropped when he first heard that they were Invid. His unit didn't take it well, either. The commander's or his men's misgivings, however, weren't anywhere on Captain Cooper's priority list.

"You'll have to make it work, Bernard. I'm counting on you," the woman had told him when she noticed his reticence.

_Easier said than done, _thought the officer. His subordinates were not that eager to meet their new alien teammates but understood orders had to be obeyed. In the meantime, the Invid were ready. All seven waited to meet their human counterparts and CO.

Ariel reminded herself that she had completed her training program and was ready. _I can do this_, she told herself, but calm didn't come. A bad feeling had accompanied her since that morning, when she received news that she would be taking part on an exercise in lieu of a sick pilot.

Scott's proximity deepened her anxiety. Although on two occasions - during her Alpha basic-mechanics lesson - he almost spotted her, she had managed to avoid him for days. She was lucky to be wearing a baseball cap that obscured her face the first time. The second time, she found a discreet hiding place behind Uld's back.

Kooren had insisted that she confronted the human, especially now that the enemy seemed to be going a bit easier on them. But Ariel couldn't bring herself to do it; more so, after inconspicuously observing commander Bernard and noticing the attentive way in which lieutenant Grace Hopkins looked at him. Her heart broke at the though of him corresponding to human female's interest.

Ariel tried letting the stillness of the Invid mental bond sooth her. Her good friend Kooren hadn't been selected for this exercise, but at least Uld was there. But in the end, nothing that she did would have helped her to meet that one particular human, again.

At last, the young and stern looking officer arrived, followed by a group of pilots. As he approached, his sight zeroed in on the pale visage of a red-haired Invid. His confident steps halted abruptly. _Those eyes... It's...!_

"Commander," said Captain Cooper, " these are the reinforcements assigned to fight along your squadron." Facing the Invid, she added: "Soldiers, meet commander Scott Bernard, your new leader." They all saluted.

Like a wax statue, the human hadn't taken his eyes off a particular female. His ghostly face was the exact opposite of hers, which at this point was crimson.

"Commander..."

Not a word came out him.

"Commander, is everything all right?" Cooper asked getting anxious.

"Yes... yes ma'am!" Bernard stammered.

"Commence the exercise, if you will. There's no time to lose. "

"All pilots to your mecha!" said Scott getting into business mode. Aliens and humans obeyed while the leader carefully looked where the female Invid went. Every so often, she shot glances back at him.

_Is it... can she be...? _Her presence disconcerted him, pushing the enemy, his squadron and even launching protocol out of his thoughts. While taking off, distracted as he was, Bernard barely saw an angry face on his communications console. It was too late when he realized it had been operations officer Woods. He could predict the reprimand she would welcome him with. But that was the last of his worries.

Once in open space, he focused on the exercise as much as he could. One error would be his last. He collected himself as they headed toward the assigned sector.

"Raider 1 to all raiders," he said as the group neared its target coordinates. "On my signal, move into reconnaissance formation and stand by." Commander Bernard looked at unit 03 on his screen; _Is it really her? _he wondered at the same time and considered the possibility that the Regiss made multiple copies of Invid Ariel."Initiate exercise," he ordered and all pilots responded to to his command.

_Could the Invid queen be that twisted?_ Was she be mocking him from a distant corner of the universe?_ "_Activate scanners," he said, and pressed a button on his Alpha's console.

The sensitive equipment installed on each shadow veritech swept section after section. The readings didn't show anything unusual. _So far, so good,_ thought the commander, glad that the didn't have to deal with the enemy at this moment. His mind returned to her. _It must be Ariel, _he decided. A stranger wouldn't have been so nervous and he had noticed that this one was._ But what is she doing here? _he thought, feeling a mix of worry and anger. Anyhow, he didn't have time to brood over those feelings as his eye caught sight of a group of enemy ships nearing his position. He tried to lock _Ariel's_ presence somewhere deep inside his mind and promised himself that when they made it back he'd get an explanation out of her.

_Perfect timing! _he was thinking as corporal Jones announced:"Enemy ships on sector 9!"

"Ready your shields!" ordered the leader and immediately contacted the operations officer "This is Raider 1 to operations. We have spotted an enemy detachment on sector DX-09. We request orders."

"You're on a reconnaissance patrol, head ho... " the message was interrupted.

"Repeat, operations, I couldn't copy..."

"Change of plans, Bernard. Engage the enemy," said Captain Cooper.

_What!_ "I'm out with a group of newbies, ma'am. Did you say engage?"

"Engage, Bernard. Those are your orders."

"Yes, captain," he said, hating it. _I guess they are eager to see the Invid in combat, _he thought and ordered his squadron to follow an interception course. He hated even more that _Ariel _was in the middle of it.

The raiders reached their enemy quickly. Blue and red shimmering rays showered them and bloomed into violent orange explosions upon contact. It was show time.

Ariel found out that simulator training and real combat were significantly different. She escaped the fire of an enemy closing on her by constantly engaging her shield. Luckily, advances in Robotechnology had allowed each shadow alpha to have one. If she wasn't careful, however, she'd deplete the shield's energy. On top of it, she was distracted, trying to keep an eye on a distant officer's veritech. Little did she know that the said officer was having a hard time fighting while trying to keep an eye on her.

_He must be so mad..._ she was thinking when a ray went through her defenses and struck her left wing. Her alpha spun sideways.

"Ariel!" Scott yelled, caught up battling against an elusive craft. He tried to come to her aid, but the enemy didn't make it easy. He had to defend himself or die.

Inside a spinning cockpit, Ariel tried to overcome the wave of panic that menaced to drown her. _I must stabilize! _she thought fumbling to reach the appropriate control.

"Hold on!" Bernard told her, still tied up.

"Balance control systems are off!" yelled the Invid over the net. Scott accelerated while two alien crafts followed him. "Enemy ship's getting closer!" she added in panic.

"Switch modes, Ariel! That will reset the system," the commander said just before switching to battloid himself. Powered by the Alpha's legs' thrusters he halted his forward motion and ascended. The enemy didn't have time to slow down and passed him. He took the chance and fired on them, reaching a vulnerable point on their engines. Once hit, they exploded. Immediately, he went for Ariel, but halfway, he heard a distress call.

"I can't shake this one off. Someone help!" screamed corporal Mendez. The leader was torn between aiding the Invid or helping the human.

"I'll cover Ariel," said Uld. who was closer to her position. He approached fast and, as soon as he got in range, he fired upon the enemy that was after her.

Scott heard the transmission with relief. _Who's that?_ he thought, distinguishing the savior as Raider 07. He went back for Mendez.

Ariel battled to regain control, forcing her craft into guardian mode, at last. "Try to stabilize now," Uld told her. But the system remained off-line. Desperate, Ariel saw Scott moving speedily in the distance. His battloid was about to get to Mendez's Alpha when an enemy ray hit the latter's cockpit.

_Scott!_ she thought terrified as the smoldering explosion was about hit the commander. And, as if she had physically called his name, he looked in her direction.

All of a sudden she felt a strong pull that crushed her left side against the cabin. Uld's mecha had grabbed onto the wings of her guardian, thus halting its swirling motion.

_--------------_

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	4. Meeting

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 4**  
_**Meeting  
**  
--------------_

The bleeding cuts on Commander Bernard's body landed him a visit to the base's medical wing. He lay unconscious while a complete scan was performed on him in search for injuries. After making sure the pilot didn't suffer internal damage, Doctor Jean Grant treated his external wounds. His head and chest were bandaged while his minor injuries were covered with smaller adhesive sealants.

"Will this patient be transferred to the recovery room, doctor?" asked a nurse who was checking the readings on Scott's bed monitor.

"No, we were actually ordered to give him an A.R.D."

"Meta-duxilotrin?"

"That would do, but not just yet. I want to keep him under observation a few more hours. Captain Cooper will have to wait just a little longer."

The nurse nodded and only proceeded to inject the patient several hours later. Promptly after, the soldier would recover consciousness, but he would experience several side-effects. For one, his reflexes would not be normal. It was possible that his sleep patterns and personality traits would be altered too. After the effect of the drug wore off, he would need pain killers to keep functioning normally. The nurse had seen how much Jean Grant loathed to overexert a patient. In war times such as those, however, it had often been necessary to force injured soldiers to their feet at unnatural speeds.

The drug worked as expected.

"Doctor Grant?" the patient asked after slowly opening his eyes.

"Welcome back," Jean replied jovially. "You have a concussion, two broken ribs, several bruises and a few cuts commander," she informed while watching him bring his hand toward his head. "I wouldn't touch that if I was you," she warned. The patient's fingers froze centimeters away from the tender wound.

"My head feels like it's going to explode... " he told her.

"Try to breathe slowly, Scott. The pain will fade after a few minutes, when the medication you were given reaches its full effect."

"How long have I been here?" he asked trying to sit up.

"A few hours," replied Jean. Scott went quiet but the doctor knew what was on his mind. "I guess you want to know how long will I keep you in here, don't you?"

"There's something I have to take care of, doctor. Something important," he answered longing to be on his feet and out of there.

"I wish to keep you under observation longer," she commented, "but, I won't," she added thwarting Bernard's intentions to protest. "It seems Captain Cooper is in a rush to debrief you." She helped Scott to stand up slowly.

"You were given a single dose of an Aided-Recovery Drug, which means you'll be out of here very soon, but absolutely no flying for a few days, Scott. Is that clear?" He nodded. "I'll make sure Cooper understands as well."

"If you feel dizzy, experience nasal bleeding or cramps, return immediately." Scott nodded again. "Take these if the headache persists."

"Thank you Doctor," the pilot muttered and took the medication Jean was offering.

"You can go now. And I don't want to see you in here -as a patient at least- any time soon."

"I will do my best," he said lowly.

"You better."

_--------------_

Scott Bernard couldn't stop thinking about one of his Invid pilots. He had lost track of her after the blast that killed Mendez. The first thing he did after his eyes were capable of focusing enough was to check hospital admission lists. He wasn't sure Invid were treated in the same facility, but he looked anyway. Her name wasn't there.

For the time being, he couldn't do anything else. Cooper was waiting for him. He walked towards the intelligence section and crossed the main entrance. Inside, in the waiting area, he saw Lieutenant Hopkins.

"Commander," her eyes shone, "I'm glad you made it back!"

"Thanks, lieutenant. Is Captain Cooper inside?"

"Yes. Along with Commander Woods," she said feeling sorry about the upcoming operations officer's reprimand. "She yells louder than she bites," she offered. He gave her a lopsided smile as a headache was gathering under his temples. He reminded himself to take a couple of painkillers before entering the debriefing room. "I better not keep her waiting," he said finally and she nodded.

"Commander, just one more thing..."

"Yes?"

"Tirol Base has sent reinforcements, they will begin arriving tomorrow."

"Good news at last."

"I thought you would want to know that Major Sterling's name is on the roster."

"Major Sterling..." he said lowly, his earlier enthusiasm vanished. "I... better go now," he said hastily and wondered if there was a chance that Hopkins knew more than she should about Dana Sterling and him.

--------------

_"...X-45 quadrant... trapped... assist... pr... ship... ged... re... medic... Hunter... injure... repea..." _Vice Admiral Max Sterling's voice and image were severely distorted on the holoscreen. He looked tired and unshaven, still, it was him. For a fleeting moment, General Grant thought he had seen the distressed visage of Admiral Hayes Hunter. _Sterling said "medic" or perhaps "medical" attention... Could Admiral Rick Hunter have been injured? _

"That's all you could recover?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. Enemy interference is heavily corrupting the signal. But we know the transmission is recent by its signature, sir"

"How recent?"

"Hours."

"We must double our efforts, the SDF-3's holding on. We can't let them down! Get me all captains, ASAP."

"Yes, sir!"

--------------

With his arms crossed, Scott waited for Ariel. So many questions were in his mind. Why was she here? Since when did she become a soldier? What was he going to do to about her? He knew that he couldn't afford being distracted; and she definitely distracted him. He was angry at her for putting herself in danger but a part of him was expectant and even eager to see her again. He couldn't handle the contradictory feelings he was experiencing. And, as if having people he cared so much about trapped by an unknown enemy and facing death at their hands wasn't enough, the news of Dana coming to be in harm's way had completely sunk his battered spirit. Not that his debriefing and Woods' reprimand had helped either.

Captain Cooper was thrilled with the Invid's performance. All Invid units had survived their first skirmish with the enemy. The casualties were reduced to human losses only. Scott took the news with a mix of rage and relief. By then, he knew for sure that Ariel was all right, but Cooper's coldness unsettled him. The members of his squad seemed to be expendable parts for the officer. Like nuts and bolts, a spring or some other piece of unfeeling metal.

During the interview, Bernard was told about an experimental procedure about to be tried on alien recruits. It was aimed at further improving their combat abilities. When he asked to learn more details, his question was shut down. If Ariel was going to be subjected to this experiment, he better find out what it was all about. That sudden military friendliness with the Invid seemed suspicious to him. _Why did she have to come? Why did she leave earth's safety and her anonymity behind, why?_

He breathed. At least he had made it back in one piece, unlike Mendez who... had disintegrated._ If it wasn't for Ariel,_ he thought, as anger replaced his feelings of protectiveness towards her, _I would have reached him!_ Nevertheless, deep inside, his sore mind nagged at him; he knew he was being unfair. In the precise moment, however, hotheaded Scott Bernard didn't want to listen to his own common sense.

She arrived at last and the door shut mechanically after her. They were alone, face to face after months of thinking of one another, but there wasn't any warm welcome, not a hug, not a kiss, less so a confession of love. All Ariel saw when he opened his blue eyes was pain and anger. He wasn't the Scott she remembered and he was injured. A white bandage was wrapped around his head. Not knowing if following the military protocol was in order, she tried to approach and salute at the same time and ended up freezing.

They shared the awkward feeling. He couldn't care less about the whole rank hierarchy at the moment. She wasn't a soldier. She was Ariel, an Invid. _So human, though_. His eyes caught how beautiful she looked. Pale perfect skin, long lavish red hair and fiery brown eyes...

_She has been a friend. No, not a friend... a crush. A mistake._ He refused to accept what he had felt -still felt- about her. _It was only a kiss._ Feelings were stirring inside him. There he was, the human officer, Invid-hater at one time, feeling... attraction towards an alien? _Arghh!_ His internal turmoil and his inability to deal with it were getting him madder by the second.

"What are you doing here, Ariel?" he asked lastly. His voice was low.

"...Scott... sir," she was very nervous. "You requested my presence." The obvious answer came out and she regretted it immediately, feeling like an idiot.

"Why did you come to Mars Base?" His voice rose by a few decibels as he came closer to her.

"The REF offered safety and a new life for Invid who decided to enlist... I thought it would be good..."

"We are at war, Ariel! This is serious!"

She shivered but composed herself. "You think I don't know! I've been through war. This conflict has taken many lives and it nears earth, it has to be stopped..."

"Why would you care?"

"Earth is my home now, my friends are there... and..." she thought of the countless times she had imagined him facing danger, "I want to help."

"You want to help? Seriously, Ariel, you can barely handle your own mecha! Good help you are." He was inches away from her now.

"I... I didn't mean to... " She looked down, ashamed.

"People fought and died today! While you, an Invid, needed to be baby-sat!" He was yelling, letting his anger and frustration pour over her.

"An Invid?" He had said it with such scorn. "Is that all I am for you?"

"What else are you! Wait. What were you, originally? A trooper? A murderous enforcer before the Invid Regiss made you into this?" He pointed at her.

And then, instead of breaking down and crying, Ariel looked at him. _How could he be like this? _Her eyes were glowing in a way he had never seen. There weren't any tears, but still he was taken aback, realizing in that second that he had gone too far. An apology had almost reached his lips and broken the uncomfortable silence when she spoke instead.

"You are right. I'm just an Invid. What else could I be?" She said it with a voice as cold as his. "If that is all..." she added, tense.

He was quiet, feeling guilty and too confused to know what to say. Maybe it was better this way; still, he couldn't look at her.

"Yes, that's all." She turned to leave.

"I'll see that you're transferred, Ariel," he said before she left and when she couldn't hear him anymore: "I want you safe."

_--------------_

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	5. Contrition

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 5  
_Contrition_**_  
_

_-------------- _

"Excellent!" said the scientist. Her greedy eyes devoured the latest report on the alien's battle performance. "Most of these units are ready to receive an implant; we must start with the next phase immediately!"

"Doctor... There's something that we should consider before," her colleague spoke with caution.

"What is that, Doctor Reed?" she asked touching the bridge of her delicate glasses.

"The implants' energy outputs aren't stable yet. Our previous tests on live subjects..." his mind remembered what lay amidst the lab's cold morgue, "... weren't successful."

_Yes,_ she remembered. A couple of Invid had "volunteered" for certain tests that unluckily made them sick beyond recovery. "Those tests were absolutely necessary, doctor," said the scientist while, in all truth, she couldn't care less about their deaths. In the greater scheme of things, there was much more at stake here than the lives of two aliens.

"I'm aware that we have most unfortunately lost some of our research subjects," she added in the calmest, most business-like of her tones. "You needn't worry, doctor Reed. Captain Cooper will take care of the paperwork for the missing aliens. It isn't like they had any family."

"But... "

"To further ease your mind, the problem has been addressed with the latest prototype. I'm confident it'll be perfect this time," she pressed.

"Even the smallest level of Groen's radiation is dead..."

"I said it has been taken care of, Reed!" she said impatiently. "This is the best bet we can make against our enemies, doctor. Or do you value more those aliens than humankind, Reed?" He didn't answer. "The implantation process must commence at once!" she added and then lowered her voice to a menacing grunt. "We can't afford more delays. Our heads are on the line now, Reed." He understood.

"Let's do it, then," he agreed, blocking the whispers of his feeble conscience.

_--------------_

Her meeting with Scott wasn't at all what she'd hoped for. Ariel felt she had deluded herself thinking Scott'd be happy to see her. _Idiot_. How did she think his repulsion for her race would disappear so easily. Her tears flowed freely now. Alone on a dimly lit observation platform, she clutched her folded legs against her chest.

Scott had called her a murderous enforcer, a "thing" that the Regiss had shaped into something human-like. That had hurt her so deeply and at the same time pushed her to reach deep into her past. How many lives had she ended? Had she been just another drone unleashed against her queen's enemies? Was she still, just that?

Ariel probed into her memory. She knew that she possessed instinctive knowledge on how to pilot Invid mecha; she could recall images of the Invid native planet, Optera; she could even see battles between her kind and other races. Based upon that, she had always thought that she had been there, a long time before her transmutation into a stage five. She didn't even know how old she was.

As she examined distant mementos, the Invid found something that puzzled her. She couldn't tell for sure if they were personal recollections or memories she'd gained from the Invid collective mind and made her own. How to know? Was it worth it to try to find out if _she _had really been there? _No, it didn't matter, _she thought disheartened. Some people would never see beyond the green color of her blood.

_Ariel? _She felt someone calling and didn't answer. She just wanted to disappear, ashamed as she was of herself. _Ariel, _that voice again, soft and caring. _What happened?_ Uld's angular and pale features were right in front of her. He had crouched down to her level and he waited.

But she didn't want to talk, or move, or... breathe. After a long silence, he was there still, just observing her. His hazel eyes shone, worried and curious. Ariel saw his genuine concern; he was like her, maybe he'd understand... Little by little, she opened her mind to him. Her feelings flowed and found Uld's mind.

He felt her pain and her joy. Like perfume, sensations invaded his mind, awakening his own emotions in response; emotions he couldn't understand. Ariel was -the word escaped him- so different from him and at the same time, alike. Her feelings were like crushed flowers. Uld felt suddenly angry at the human who had hurt her. _Vile creature! _How could someone be so cruel to someone that fragile?

_Ariel..._

He felt an urge to soothe her, an irrepressible impulse to hug her tight. The intensity of her emotions, her warmth, her softness... Uld held Ariel for hours while she cried. And all the time he wondered what was that feeling that was taking complete hold of him.

_--------------_

Scott sat on his bed, grumpy beyond his darkest day. His wounds throbbed under their bandages. Ariel hadn't left his mind for a second. He felt trapped, frustrated, guilty; simply miserable. It had lastly sunk in into his brain, after feeling haunted by memories of her pained face, that it _wasn't_ better this way.

He wished he could take his words back; apologize. Thinking back, he couldn't explain why he had treated her that way, less so justify himself behind his worry for her safety or the loss of his men. The idea of having Ariel so close and hating him seemed unbearable to him. He didn't want to look into her eyes any given day and see what he had seen that afternoon. An impulse to go see her and make things right between them assailed him. He walked to his door, then stopped cold. What did _right_ between them mean exactly?

_Friendship? Love? _

He wasn't sure the former would do, but he wasn't ready for the latter either. After having seen her again, after almost touching her, how was he supposed to accept cold, silent distance? She had left him that afternoon, giving him just that. What had he been thinking? Truth was, he _hadn_'_t_ been thinking. A silent door received his anger.

_She's an Invid! Damn it, Bernard! _A part of his mind screamed at him.

He paced now like a caged animal; every second making him sink deeper into a dark hole he himself had dug.

_So what if she is! _Another side seemed to yell at him even louder.

_I can't... I shouldn't... Do... I... love her?_

He couldn't answer himself for fear of the truth. He was going to drive himself insane if he stayed in that room mulling over it any longer. Hastily, a contrite Scott left his quarters; he didn't know what he was going to tell her; he hoped the words would magically pop into his mind when he needed them. But as much as he tried, Scott wouldn't be able to find the source of his turmoil that night._  
_

_--------------_

Lieutenant Grace Hopkins walked down the corridors of Mars Base. Sporting a serious face, she moved briskly towards her assigned housing facility. After a long and tiring day, she entered her quarters. At last, she didn't have to stop a mischievous smile from crawling onto her face. She relaxed her shoulders and let her long blond hair fall off the tight bun she had coiffed it into.

Carefully, she placed the device she had been hiding in her work bag on her desk, next to her personal computer terminal -her job had its perks. The small transparent cube was a memory cell that contained confidential information. She had been able to extract the data inconspicuously form the military intelligence database, for the second time in a row.

She opened the files in front of her, eager to know more about the man who had increasingly been absorbing her attention. A quiet and disciplined soldier. A determined leader who had successfully carried on a seemingly hopeless mission. A man who lived under a false and modest name.

It was exhilarating.

Grace Hopkins felt like she hadn't felt in years: like a child who put her hands into momma's cookie jar and got that big chocolate chip one that she wasn't allowed to have. Yes, a little part of her complained; It was wrong to be snooping like that! Yet, the brightly-lit cube was too much of a temptation; she couldn't stop at this point. The lieutenant told herself that there wasn't any other easy way to get to know him. He was too damn reserved for his own good!

So Grace plowed ahead and read more and more about the subject of Scott Bernard, or as she correctly knew by then, Scott Brenai Sterling.

_--------------_

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	6. Secrets

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 6_  
Secrets _**

--------------

Max Sterling observed the motionless body of the man that had been his closest friend. Rick Hunter lay on med-bay, in a coma. His condition was critical but had stabilized under the constant care of a regeneration chamber. Behind the machine's protective Plexiglas, Max noticed that ghostly paleness hadn't left Rick's face. 

While he watched the mechanical precision of the admiral's breathing, Max recalled countless other med-bay visits he had paid this man; mostly when they were both combat pilots. Never had Sterling seen Hunter in such a state. To recover, Rick needed a complex surgery that couldn't be performed aboard the SDF-3. Transporting him elsewhere was impossible as the ship remained isolated from the rest of the fleet. All communication efforts had been futile.

Sabotage crippled the vessel seconds into its last jump towards Earth. The computer's spatial coordinates were scrambled and the interdimensional voyage got extended for an amount of time yet to be determined. For all Sterling knew, they had been lost for years. When the ship finally entered normal space, it was received by the fire of an unknown enemy. Constant stealth attacks had further damaged the super dimensional fortress. 40 of the launch bays were nonoperational; the engine and system-control rooms had been destroyed; overworked reserve generators were menacingly close to give up on them; more than half the ship's combat squadrons had been wiped out.

"Hold in there," Sterling told the resting admiral, wishing that the ship and its crew would, too. However, his hope was wanning.

During these trying times, Max had clung to his wife, Miriya. They only had each other at this point, since war had taken their children from them. The vice-admiral was beginning to feel beaten and suspected that behind her tough exterior, his wife felt the same way. Over the years, the pain and worry that stemmed out of their decision to leave Dana had drained them. It got much worse after their younger son ran away; after his death at the hands of the Invid, it became unbearable. Max and Miriya had hoped that reuniting with their surviving child would lessen the suffering. That was the main reason behind their decision to take this last trip. Yet, the voyage brought them even further from their daughter, and perhaps condemned them to death.

Max saw the unconscious body in front of him and couldn't stop a flicker of anger. His brow furrowed bitterly as he remembered that this man, his friend, had known all along that his son was with Mars' 21st Division and never told him._ If only you hadn't intervened,_ he thought watching Rick, _Scott would still be... alive._

"Thank you for watching over him." A gentle voice broke Max's train on thought.

_Lisa. _Max regarded the fatigue on her face and his anger instantly dissolved. Rick's silence regarding Scott's whereabouts had been the hardest test their friendship ever endured, but it had survived -if severely battered. She was suffering and he simply couldn't blame her for standing by her husband's side. He would have done the same for Miriya. And Rick had explained his reasons, yet those could do little to bring his son back.

"I needed some time with my old buddy," Sterling said finally.

The woman approached, stood next to Max and looked down at her resting husband with tired, loving eyes.

"He'll make it," the vice-admiral felt compelled to comfort her.

She managed a sad smile. "I know." Max held Lisa's hand supportively.

"He's the most stubborn man I've ever met," added the once famous ace while he watched Rick's motionless body.

After a while, he broke the silence. "I better go check up on Miriya. He's in good hands now."

She nodded and he started to leave. "Max... I know this isn't easy for you..." Hearing her, he stopped.

"Don't say it, Lisa, please." He shook his head.

As Max Sterling left the room, Lisa lowered her face in silence, her eyes stung and promptly became watery, but tears didn't fall. Rick wouldn't like to see her crying.

--------------

General Grant sat in the conference room surrounded by his captains. On the holo-screen, Max Sterling flickered while his voice boomed intertwined with the sound of static. After the distress message was replayed, the urgency of rescuing the SDF-3's crew was evident for those assembled.

"We need to reach the ship," declared Grant flatly. The officers in the room nodded in silent agreement. "What do you recommend, Captain Christensen, " asked Grant.

"A full scale attack seems like the best option, general. While our current numbers are low, in a few days' time, reinforcements from Tirol and Moon bases will bring our offensive capacity to 75 percent. If we increase rotation, we can reach 85 percent," informed the tactical expert.  
_  
Enough force,_ thought Vince. "Very well..."

"With all due respect, sir," interrupted Captain Sinclair. "Personnel is already working double and triple shifts as it is; forcing them to work any longer would push them into exhaustion. Rather than help, it would work against us."

The general crossed his hands in front of him. While Christensen was his tactical man, Sinclair oversaw personnel directly and had first hand information on scheduling and performance. He couldn't ignore his opinion.

Vince knew that he had ran out of options and saw the time was ripe to cash in on his investment with Dr. Iskandar. She had offered to deliver something that would shift the balance of this war. His sight searched the room and stopped on Captain Lorna Cooper's face. A subtle signal was enough for her to know that the time to reveal the secret project had arrived.

"Captain Sinclair," Grant spoke, "your concern is valid. Our forces are indeed close to exhaustion. However, there are alternatives to increased rotation."

"Alternatives, sir?"

"Captain Cooper, I would like you to introduce Project S908 to us."

"Yes sir." Lorna walked to the front of the room. "Months ago, General Grant approved research and development of a new weapon," she started.

"A new weapon?" Questions filled the room. "What kind of weapon?"

"A bio-robotech weapon. A new kind of combat unit that would effectively confront and defeat the enemy."

"How exactly can this 'weapon' do that, captain?"

The woman looked at Grant. He signaled for her to elaborate.

"These units have 200 percent the endurance of an average veritech fighter. Their targeting accuracy has been improved up to 20 times beyond the best unassisted human score. Their capacity of communication with others like them is instant. But most impressing, the enemy can't hide itself from them." The room gasped, surprised. Cooper continued. "They posses a supersensitive radar that can track our invisible enemy with crystal clarity."

"I can't believe that if such an advanced radar device has been produced, it hasn't it been implemented across the fleet!"

"That's the problem, Captain Sinclair. It isn't a device, it is an enhanced biological ability that can't be reproduced by a machine alone."

"I thought we were talking of AI controlled mecha, Cooper."

"No, these machines have biological pilots"

"Were are the pilots coming from?"

"They are Invid"

"What!" The audience was further shocked by Cooper's revelation.

"Specifically, stage five Invid," she added. "While one research team worked on the development of a new generation of shadow veritechs, another worked on the design of a neural implant which, among other things, fully integrates Invid and robotech mecha. The new combat unit we created is the result of analysis and improvements over Invid biotechnology and its fusion with robotechnology."

"How far into development is this project at? Are these units anywhere close to being ready?"

"The first beta unit was completed about 24 hours ago," Cooper answered proudly. "Performance tests conducted so far place its offensive abilities at 300 percent the normal shadow veritech rates."

"Incredible," voiced someone in the room.

"How long will it take to have enough of them ready for battle?" asked General Grant.

"Three days sir, counting that the reinforcements Moon Base sent us include enough Invid to take implants."

"Christensen?"

"According to the report we received, 60 percent of arrivals will be Invid."

"Very well, then," said Vince "I want every mecha to be prepared, every technician, every mechanic, every pilot and soldier in this base to be deployed. We will hit the enemy with a full scale assault in three days time. The SDF-3 needs us. No matter the cost, I want them free."

Many questions lingered on the captains' minds. But for now, the pressing situation had more weight. The forces needed reinforcements, no matter of what kind.

While the officers left the room, Vince signaled Cooper to stay behind. They walked toward his private office in silence.

She could see that Grant was worried. Dr. Iskandar's last report had calmed the general's concerns about the safety of her experimentation and while Cooper had kept some unsettling details from the general for the project's sake, the man had doubts.

"Lorna, I must know. Are Iskandar's implants perilous to the Invid pilots who will receive them?"

"General..."

"The truth, Lorna!"

She sighed. "Some of the early research subjects were lost, general. The radiation is dangerous but Iskandar has assured me that the force field that contains it has been perfected."

"Can she be trusted?"

"Sir, under the circumstances, we don't have an option."

--------------

Since her encounter with Scott, Ariel seldom left her quarters. As the frequency of enemy attacks had decreased, she hadn't had any important reason to come out, food being optional. What had transpired kept replaying in her mind. Scott's attitude and his words had made things clear. She decided that she wouldn't push it any longer as his feelings of affection would never belong to her. Furthermore, if Scott had his way, she'd be out of Mars Base very soon.

She had confided in Koreen and her roommate had been as supportive as she could. Uld had been around often as well. Ariel found he was very protective of her. He knew exactly how she felt; he literally 'felt' all that went on when she opened her mind to him. She was at ease with him. When their minds connected, she was conscious of his sincere worry for her emotional state. Both Invid had been set on distracting Ariel from her dark thoughts. They had kept her occupied while they could, but she was alone now, serving a mandatory sleep period.

An executive order had been given to begin the implantation of all Invid pilots. On that same day, Uld and Koreen had been scheduled to receive theirs and would be forced to stay in the medical wing for several hours. She attributed her not receiving the device to Scott's intentions of getting rid of her. Why waste one of those expensive implants on someone who was leaving?

_I only wanted to help him,_ she thought while sadness grew within her. The alien tried to sleep but her eyes refused to close, her mind spun, she turned in her bed considering what she could do. All of a sudden, she heard someone at the door. She didn't move from her bed, hoping whoever it was would go away.

"Anybody there?" a voice came from behind the closed entrance. Ariel froze, it was Scott. She sat as if a spring had pulled her up. Quietly, she moved toward the door, but she didn't dare open it. Her heart beat fast; she could almost feel him waiting on the other side.

"Ariel, are you there?" he insisted. "I just want to talk to you." No reply came. For as much as she wanted to have him close once again, Ariel wasn't ready for a second round of hurtful exchanges with him. _Why is he here?_ She couldn't help but wonder with her heart at her throat._ "Maybe he arranged my transfer already," _she thought pained. She returned to her bed and hugged her pillow tightly.

Scott called her name once more and waited, feeling increasingly out of place yelling at a closed door. He noticed the dark gap under it, all lights were off inside the room. After a few minutes, he reluctantly gave up.

--------------

Tirolean shuttles approached Mars. Their mother-ship waited further away from the planet. One by one, the gigantic transports descended onto the RDF base's docking bays. It was busy on the ground, as always when fresh troops arrived on wars' doorstep.

Major Dana Sterling was walking down the ramp of her transport when she spotted something that made her stop cold. "What are you doing!" she yelled. "Be sure not to damage that mecha!" the sharp voice of the angry blond startled a lift operator. The tank he was lowering to the ground swung dangerously in midair. The man tried to stabilize the tank's weight and hastily deposited his cargo onto the ground. The tank hit a rolling platform with the loudest thud. Dana was fuming. "If it is broken, I'll hunt you down!" she roared. The man squirmed and hurried to remove himself and his lift from her presence.

The major made her way to the rolling platform, climbed on it and was checking her tank when someone called her name.

"Major Sterling?"

"Yes," she answered and unwillingly took her attention away from her dear mecha. A young man with blue eyes and blue hair looked at her with a curious expression. She studied him for a few seconds. Slender, stiff, a bandage around his head, he seemed to be all too eager and nervous. Somehow he seemed... familiar. _Whom does he remind me of?_ Dana wondered.

"I'm Commander Scott... Bernard..." he said. _Was he stammering?_ "... and have an urgent matter to discuss with you," he looked around, "in private..." he realized the surprise on Dana's face, "If you have a few minutes, that is."

Dana didn't know what to make of him. _Scott Bernard did he say?_ While she pondered what said 'urgent matter' could possibly be, she looked at him. Those eyes, that hair... Was it the exact shade of blue of her own father's? That subtle pause when he had said his last name... She blinked, unbelieving as her brain made the connection. _Scott! Could it be?_ She had only seen her little brother in pictures her mother had sent her. The last she knew about him had been more than six years prior when...

Suddenly, the platform that held her mecha started to haul it away. She jumped off it. "Yes, commander. I... I... have a few minutes," she said; It was her turn to stammer.

--------------

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	7. Family Ties

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 7  
_Family Ties_**

--------------

After realizing she simply couldn't serve her sleep period, Ariel gave up trying. Once and again, she mulled over what motives could have brought Scott to her door earlier. Her fear of the human wanting to make it even clearer that he hated her kind made the Invid opt to avoid him. As time passed, however, Ariel's restless mind considered alternate reasons for his behavior. She had never witnessed Scott Bernard taking pleasure in torturing anyone – not even an enemy; why would he do it now? Her emotions traveled up and down like trapped inside a roller-coaster wagon. _What if he is sorry? _she thought and hope was reborn inside her. _What if he changed his mind about sending me away?_ Happiness flooded her. _What if he...?_ She stopped herself from completing that last far-fetched thought.

Exhausted but unable to rest, the Invid left her quarters and headed for the showers. In a couple of hours, her active shift -the last most likely- would start again. While she walked, she felt very lonely. The Invid wondered how her friends on earth were doing and, for the first time since her adventure started, she wished that she had stayed among them instead of following a hopeless fantasy.

--------------

Silently, Commander Bernard and Major Sterling walked through Mars Base's corridors, they headed south in tunnel 5A and passed a barely populated archive wing. It had been a while since they left the docking bay and Dana was starting to lose her patience. She wanted to know if this man was her brother and saw no reason preventing her from learning the truth right away. _He_ had asked her to talk, after all.

"Bernard," she said deliberately, to study his reaction while halting her step, "what is that matter that you want to discuss?"

The name had an effect on him. Distracted, he took a couple more steps before realizing she wasn't next to him. As he turned back to face her, his sad blue eyes explored the deserted corridor from side to side. The commander sighed; it was time.

--------------

"Just three boxes this time?" asked a woman at the reception desk of Mars Base's central archive.

"Yes, the enemy has been less active, so our logs weren't that busy," said Lieutenant Hopkins while carefully depositing three information backup cubes on the counter. Military procedure dictated that the control room recorded all its operations in fourth dimensional-state devices designed to survive massive attacks. Grace was in charge of bringing the cubes to the archive each few days for sorting and storage. Despite being crystalline, for some archaic and long forgotten reason, the cubes were called "Black Boxes".

Finally, the archivist signed a reception prompt on the lieutenant's hand-held device. The menial chore was done and Grace was free to go. She exited and headed south using tunnel 5A. Hopkins didn't know that a few steps ahead, amidst a dimly-lit section, she was about to witness a long overdue family moment.

-------------

Most of her life, Dana Sterling had secretly hated her baby brother. While he had their parent's warmth, she had to be content with watching holograms of them, occasionally. While he had their hugs and kisses every night, she was sent to bed without much ceremony. While he had their advice, their care when he was sick and even their worried reprimands, she had detached attention, a military nurse and the strict rules of a stranger's home. She wasn't ungrateful toward those who took her in. In fact, the Emerson's had been very kind, but it just wasn't the same.

The look on Dana's face told Scott that his sister's patience was about gone. He could tell as, like true heirs to their mother's legendary temper, the siblings were both short-fussed. Miriya, Zentraedi warrior, became pregnant with her second child less than a year after the Expeditionary Mission left earth. Until the moment Scott introduced himself at the docking bays, the Sterling children had never seen each other in person. They had known each other's faces early on thanks to subspatial communications and holo-screens; unfortunately, those short glances had stopped many years ago.

Uneasy, Dana thought that the man walking by her side now could be that brother. That difficult teenager that tore Miriya's heart. He, who ran from what she longed for, who dared throw away what her parents had denied her. Dana reflected on the fact that Max and Miriya were now lost; maybe dead. _Why now?_ she mused gloomily Why when she learned that they had always wanted to return for her? The woman blocked those thoughts aside; she was here to rescue her parents, they _had_ to be alive; they owed her that. And while she concentrated on her goal, she thought that, if the somber man next to her was in fact a Sterling, he was probably holding on to the same hope.

Dana had fought and survived wars brought upon earth by the Robotech Masters and later the Invid. Loss of loved ones and conflict had hardened her, aged her somehow; yet her real age didn't quite show on her. For a long period and unbeknown to the fleet's scientists, defective fold drives had caused time to nearly stop inside many ships that executed spatial jumps. The older Sterling had been aboard one when she was forced to escape earth.

On his part, Scott had also spent many years away from home, but unlike his sister, it had been by choice. One day, after a heated argument, he left his family. He knew it would hurt his parents, but he couldn't take living under their roof anymore. Regret plagued Max and Miriya's days, they idolized their missing child and it had been too hard for their son to grow with it. He escaped the smothering weight of living under their shadows and what he perceived as unsurmountable expectations. Hiding all traces of his past, the half-Zentraedi enlisted, earned his wings and the rank of lieutenant commander on Mars Division. He fought against the Invid and lost people he deeply cared about. War changed him, like it changed his sister.

Memories assailed the commander. He remembered that there hadn't been a day during which, in spite of seldom successes, his father hadn't tried to secure a comm-link with the Emerson's home. He recalled that he had "talked" to Dana even before he could truly articulate. Max had assisted "translating" his babbling. And now his sister was there; their parents had reunited them at last, but not in the way they had planned. He felt a knot in his throat.

"Dana," he said. "I've... I've waited a long time to meet you."

"I am not that famous, commander," she told him coldly and unsure.

"You always were famous," he insisted, softly.

"Flattery wont take you places, Bernard," she spat. Despite attempting to seem neutral, her facade was cracking.

"I remember the first time I saw you..." he continued. She looked at him while anxiety built up inside her. Was this really _her_ brother?

"I was small, but I can still recall your face on the holo-screen. Big blue eyes were glued on me; like if I was a space creature or something..." he smiled, traveling back in time, "I tried to touch you, but my hand went trough the light, disturbing the image..."

"...then mom came and held it down..." the young woman continued the recollection for him, "... and she told you... this is... this is," her voice left her.

"...your sister, Dana," he finished.

She suspected it, but the confirmation still caused an impact on her. This man was her brother. Torn, Dana felt an urge to hit him, hard. Childishly, she hoped to concentrate all her resentment in that one punch. However, when she saw the emotion in his eyes, her body failed her. Her hand refused to make a fist; her arm refused to throw it. He had her -their- father's eyes. _Damn him!_ From the depths of her soul, Dana wanted to continue hating him, but couldn't; she wanted to scream, but didn't. It wasn't his fault, it had never been. Worst of all, he may as well be all that was left of them, her parents.

When he finally hugged her, Dana Sterling couldn't help but open the dam that held her tears.

-------------

The siblings' reunion made them oblivious to Grace's presence in the corridor. The lieutenant had approached on her way back to the control room. She hadn't recognized them at first and thought of clearing her throat and startling the love birds just as she passed. Soon however, she realized the man's identity and stopped cold, feeling jealous and embarrassed. Scott Bernard, _her Scott_, was hugging some bimbo.

As she processed the unsettling sight, Hopkins realized that the woman was sobbing. _What the hell is going on!_ Grace thought as blood pushed against her cheeks. She almost dropped the hand-held device that she carried. The lieutenant caught the gadget just on time, but the pen attached to it hit the floor with a sharp noise. That was enough for Dana Sterling to turn her tear-laden face away and for Scot to place himself between his sister and the intruder. He turned and prepared to give the bystander a lethal glare when he recognized who it was:_ Lieutenant Hopkins._

"Sorry... sir..." Grace babbled. Taking in her mortified state, Scott's frown softened. "I... I didn't mean to interrupt," she added and fished for her fallen pen.

He then realized what she was thinking. "Ohh... No..." he said; crimson circles grew on his face, "...this isn't what it seems..."

"You don't need to explain, sir," she interrupted, not looking at him and quite eager to get away from the pair.

Scott was in an awkward position, he didn't want rumors about Dana and him going around. His sister had recovered by then and turned to face Grace. Scott noticed she seemed curious about the woman that had "caught" them.

"This is Lieutenant Hopkins," he said to her, deciding introductions were the first thing to do. Dana nodded but stayed quiet; she wasn't in the mood for socializing. "This is Major Dana Sterling," Scott told Grace.

"Oh..." Grace almost gasped. The reason she hadn't stumbled across a picture of the older Sterling sibling while doing her research on the younger one eluded her. _So this is his sister,_ she thought looking at them. Hopkins' knowing mind could almost see the wheels of Scott's own turning in search of a way of explaining things without giving away their real relationship. "Nice to meet you...," she told Dana temporarily dazed and forgetting protocol. The major eyed her strangely and the lieutenant corrected herself. "I mean... welcome to Mars Base, Major Sterling, ma'am!" _Way to meet my first in-law_, she mussed nervously.

-------------

Ariel was pleasantly surprised when she found the public terminals almost deserted. She got a booth right away and started her e-mail program. A letter form Lancer was waiting. Instantly, the Invid wondered how the singer and her sister were doing. She opened the file and to her surprise, the missive didn't say a word about them. After a brief and strangely worded introductory line from the musician, the letter quoted a message from someone else, a resident officer of Mars Base.

"_Ariel, this letter may surprise you..."_ it began. Her startled brown eyes flew over the worlds, each one feeding her famished dreams. She reached the message's end and unconsciously re-read his signature. She couldn't believe what she saw. She couldn't believe that after the way he treated her, Scott had indeed thought of her during the time they were apart. Yes, he needed to sort things out, but he cared, he really did! She synapsed back to the moments when she felt the cold surface of her room's door against her palms; Scott was standing behind it. He had wanted to talk. Maybe she'd been right when she thought he wanted to fix things. _Why didn't I let him?_ she regretted her choice.

Ariel hurried out form the booth, her plan of writing to her friends was forgotten. Hopes she had pushed away earlier resurfaced, stronger.

-------------  
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	8. Timing

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended. 

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 8**  
_**Timing**_

--------------

The impossible brightness in the room made Ariel blink repeatedly. Slowly, sensations returned to her body; slowly, thumping pain rocked her skull. Something foreign pressed against the base of her neck. Suddenly she remembered receiving a neural implant.

Getting used to the light took her a few more minutes. After that, Ariel sat herself up. The small area spun around, her bed with it. She felt sick. The Invid felt her upper back with her hand, located the edges of an adhesive strip and something soft, perhaps a piece of gauze. Drowsy fingers explored the wound until pain shot through her, halting any further attempt at touching it.

Ariel's breathing was rapid, unnerving and chaotic, mirroring the memories that were returning to her. A heterogeneous mass of images, sensations and sounds filled her psyche. Weakened, she struggled to assemble disconnected pieces into coherence. She remembered feeling a needle in her arm, sensing a pungent anesthetic smell from a breathing mask upon her face, distinguishing the green glow of a tiny spider-like device... The line between reality and fantasy was blurry.

Before things got confusing, she remembered reading a letter from Scott. She also remembered wandering around the base unable to decide between searching for him and reporting for duty. Unsure where he was at that time, Ariel chose the latter. When she arrived to her station, she saw a row of white medical shuttles waiting. Promptly, she was ordered into one without getting the option of asking questions. The vehicles departed speedily and, minutes after, approached a medical facility. Its cavernous access area swallowed the newcomers into its halogen-lit belly. After the transport's doors opened, Ariel's memories became fragmented and distorted.

She was in a cubicle inside a larger room now; light blue curtains surrounded her. Apart from a bed, chair and monitor, the area was bare. Her head was hurting intensely, but Ariel could still distinguish voices coming closer. The long shadows of fingers danced behind the cloth walls just before a middle-aged chubby nurse traversed them.

"Take it easy," she said, indicating Ariel to lie down on her side. She took a look at the monitor and at the wound on the Invid's back. "You aren't ready to go yet," the nurse added and before the patient knew it, a needle was in her arm. Drifting back into unconsciousness, Ariel heard voices around her becoming stronger, more frantic. For a second, she thought she had heard a familiar one, yet the drug was causing her thoughts to fall into entropy. Someone was looking into her cubicle. Before she could recognize who it was, her vision had completely shifted out of focus.

--------------

"You can't be in here!" the nurse warned the young man who had gotten into the recovery room and now peered into Ariel's cubicle. He ignored her warning and continued to spread the curtain open. The annoyed woman placed herself between him and the patient, preventing him from advancing. She noted his uniform and rank and shook her head disapprovingly.

"How is she?" he asked undeterred by her attitude and trying to see the patient over the nurse's shoulder.

"Shhh! She needs to rest!" the woman sneered.

"I just need to see her for a minute," he insisted but the nurse didn't budge. Dr. Iskandar had been very clear. If she let the intruder stay, she would lose her job.

"You must leave, immediately!" She said, advancing towards him, "this is a restricted area!" However, agile beyond what the deceiving bandages around his head let on, the young man was able to spin the chubby woman around. While she fought to untangle herself from the curtain, he got himself into the cubicle. The nurse roared lowly and he continued to brush aside her demands. Once free, she decided to go and call security on him. He welcomed her departure and came close to Ariel.

Above the edge of her hospital robe, he could see the wound on her back peeking behind its dressing. About an inch of ugly green bruising surrounded it. He walked to the other side of the bed and saw her face; she was pale like snow. He leaned down to hear her breathing. It was shallow, but regular. The subtle creases on her forehead told him she was in pain. Sorrow took hold of him; he couldn't stop himself from gently touching her cheek.

Hours earlier, when he received a rejection notice for his request to transfer her from the war front, he worried. After finding out she'd been scheduled for implantation, the feeling grew tenfold. He wasted no time to find where she was. Things were happening too fast and he hadn't had time to further investigate into those devices that the Invid were receiving. Feeling her soft skin, he wished again that she hadn't come. This time the sole reason weighing in his heart was her safety.

Hushed, angry voices signaled that security had arrived to put an end to his unauthorized visit. He left without opposition in favor of not disturbing Ariel any further. They would talk when she was better and, no matter at what cost, he'd keep an eye on her.

-----------

Admiral Hayes Hunter was on the bridge of her ship. The immobile fortress was holding up under alien fire. Her squadrons played a dangerous game of cat and mouse. They got out, hit and retreated into the bays, leaving enemy pursuers to change course or crash against the ship's barriers. Timing was essential when bringing those barriers up or down. A mistake would cause a lot of destruction inside the ship. So far the risky maneuver had bought the SDF some essential time.

"Admiral," Miriya Sterling's face appeared on Lisa's screen," our long range subspatial sensors have detected unusual distortions on sector G5-23."

"What kind of distortions?"

"Dr. Einsler thinks they correspond to the movement of a rather big object."

"A mothership?"

"It could be."

Tension appeared on Lisa's face. Her damaged ship had limited odds of surviving a direct ship-to-ship attack.

"Can you tell how far it is?"

"Calculation is difficult without knowledge of the object's size. Visual observation remains our only way of detection. Lookouts were ordered to keep watch."

"Thank you, Miriya," she said, "keep monitoring and alert me of any changes."

"Will do." With that her face disappeared.

Admiral Hayes Hunter's mind raced. She needed to find a way of protecting the ship. By the time a mothership's presence could be visually confirmed by a lookout, it would be too late to take action.

-----------

The elevator door opened and the Invid found herself facing the medical facility's reception lobby.

"Ariel," someone called. Something about that voice soothed her; she raised her eyes to see Uld.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I'm okay," she answered, "just a little cold." Gently, he took her hands in his. Both Invid stood close to each other.

"It is normal, in a few hours the drug the human gave you will make the discomfort go."

She nodded. The doctor had told her the same after injecting yet another transparent magical cocktail into her arm.

"I thought that Koreen and you would be out of here by now."

"We were." he replied. Short answers were Uld's favorites.

"Oh, then..." She searched his face for a clue. He was simply staring at her. "Did you return here for me?"

"Yes." His plain response surprised her.

"How did you know?"

"I felt something was wrong with you."

"Thank you for coming. That was very thoughtful." She smiled lightly, amazed at his gesture.

"Ready to go?"

"Yes," she declared and took a couple of flimsy steps. Uld noticed she needed help. Immediately, his arms surrounded her waist, unknowingly reminding her of a distant place and time, an icy street were another had held her. Ariel wished that other man was the one holding her, the one caring for her. She wished the eyes gazing into hers were blue.

-----------

Scott Bernard roamed through Hangar A looking for Captain Cooper. So far his fruitless search had taken him to the control room, the briefing room and the mess hall. The wide area ahead of him was like an obstacle course made out of mecha, equipment and personnel. He walked a winding path, looking for the missing officer or someone who could give him information about her whereabouts.

During his quest, he had, unintentionally, approached the platform where his own Alpha was stored. As the Shadow Veritech's fuselage came to full view, Scott felt compelled to stop in front of the machine for a few minutes. He fought the sudden urge to climb up and be at its controls again.

Since his injury, the commander had been grounded. The forces faced a critical situation and being unable to physically contribute bothered him to no end. Although his bruises were fading and his cuts were healing; headaches of varying intensities were a major part of the commander's life these days. Doctor Grant had prescribed painkillers and rest and, albeit the young man having plenty of the first, he was barely getting any of the second. Between his concern for Ariel, his meeting with Dana and his attempt at keeping up with his military duty, there wasn't any time for such mundane thing. Life was complicated.

His objective flashed in the back of his mind and he unglued his eyes from the fighter. He better not waste any more time finding Cooper. He turned and scanned the area, "Hey, Collinson," he said, recognizing a fellow pilot who worked on an Alpha's tune-up, "have you seen Cooper?"

"She's down in Operations," he answered, not coming out from under the mecha's belly.

"Thanks," Scott replied and promptly headed out. The captain was the only source within his reach that could have any information about those neural implants.

-----------

Operations occupied the base's central-eastern sector. The quickest way there was tunnel A33. Minor tunnels, feeders, merged into it from all directions. The Main, as it was called, had a bidirectional moving surface and had been dug deep under the Martian surface. It run north to south and had several exits near the base's epicenter. Scott walked briskly to the closest feeder, entered A33 and further sped up his march. He was three exits away from his destination when he saw Grace Hopkins emerging from another feeder; she was barely steps in front of him.

"Good afternoon, sir," she saluted when she saw him. She walked fast, like him.

"Lieutenant," he nodded; silence ensued between them. He felt awkwardness sink in. They traveled in the same direction while carefully avoiding looking at each other. To his surprise and her enjoyment, they seemed to be meeting quite often lately.

"Sir... I am really sorry about ...," she said suddenly.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," he interrupted, not wanting to go there at the moment. He remembered, however, the look on the lieutenant's face when she saw Dana and him together. Scott Bernard wasn't the best at interpreting subtle signs of interest, yet something in the way Grace looked at him made him want to set the record straight. "It... it _really_ wasn't what it seemed," he reiterated. She was quiet. _Obviously she doesn't believe me_, he thought, embarrassed. The idea of his brotherly feelings towards his sister being confused with something else made him uncomfortable.

"Please, don't worry about it," she tried to calm him, "I won't say a word."

"Uh...," he muttered unsure of what to say. His face was growing red. Anything besides the truth, which he wasn't eager to share, would have meant endorsing something that wasn't. Scott Bernard didn't like deception yet, he was quiet, tacitly accepting Dana and he had something going, tacitly accepting Grace Hopkins' unvoiced offer of covering for them.

"No," he said lastly, stopping and making Grace halt her step as well. "I have to explain... Major Sterling and I... we can't... I mean, we don't have that kind of relationship," he said firmly.

She knew that. The moment that Scott had said his sister's name, her jealousy vanished. Seeing him conflicted and worried about what she could be thinking made her feel guilty.

"I..." she looked down unable to face him, the twirling patterns on the floor were irresistible all of a sudden. "...I know."

"I can imagine what you saw could lend itself for..."

"Commander," she stressed, "I _know_ about Major Sterling." She saw the meaning of her words sink in as his crimson face went pale.

"You know?" he repeated, confused, "but... how?" A frown appeared on his forehead as his eyes pierced her. Regret for having told him assailed the lieutenant. It was, however, too late. Grace saw it would be difficult to wiggle herself out of that one and she almost made a run for the nearest exit.

_No_, she thought, bracing herself. She wasn't a woman to not finish what she started. A sigh came to her lips and she set her eyes on the marble-patterned floor yet again. "My work sometimes requires me to handle intelligence reports. Not so long ago, by complete chance," a mention of her research activities was unnecessary, "I learned about Vice-Admiral Sterling's missing son." Scott closed his eyes, resignedly. "At that time, Brigadier General Hunter ordered an investigation," she continued, "the results were all in the report..." She looked into his eyes. "That son is you."

Mute surprise spread across Scott's blanched face. He remembered that report. Rick Hunter held it in his hands when he had him brought to his presence. The fugitive from home was barely 18 at the time of the confrontation. Enlisting under a false name was reason enough for him to be dismissed form the forces, yet what seemed like the imminent end to Scott's hiding didn't come to pass. Rick didn't expose him. He was the first to listen to him and to understand why he had done what he did. Scott would never forget what Hunter had done for him. All these years, he thought that blasted report had been destroyed. What were the chances of it falling into the hands of the woman standing next to him?

She sensed his displeasure. _What have you done? He's going to have me discharged for snooping! _ she thought. Her silly infatuation with him had overridden her brain._ Stupid! Stupid! I shouldn't have told him! _ Then she saw his eyes looking down filled with sadness. Was he thinking of his past? Grace realized that this was perhaps a good opportunity to make a pitch.

"I would have never mentioned it. I just didn't want you to continue thinking I had gotten the wrong idea about Major Sterling and you. You seemed so upset about it." She sounded genuinely concerned. He was looking down now, remembering his parents, his mother in particular. "I can't erase what I learned, sir, but..." she continued as her hand searched for his and touched it lightly, "please know that your secret is safe with me. I'll never say or do something that could cause you trouble." She seemed distraught now.

He looked at her trying to figure her odd behavior out. Strange ideas were forming on the back of his head as he felt her trembling hand on his. "It is okay, Grace," he said to calm her. And he thought things couldn't get any more complicated. Slowly he turned and walked to the next exit. She stayed behind and he noticed the panicked expression on her face.

_So she knows my last name isn't Bernard,_ he thought. It wasn't as if that was a crime, he pondered. _But what about Admiral Hunter's involvement? That could have repercusions it it ever reached the wrong ears... _As Operations loomed right in front of him, he wondered if Grace Hopkins would really keep her word.

--------------  
For related fan art, visit my website.


	9. Pressure

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 9  
_Pressure_**

--------------

Operations was a multileveled circular chamber, walled with screens and workstations. Commander Bernard searched for Lorna Cooper and found her at three o'clock. She stood next to Captain Sinclair, their frames cast black against a luminous surface. In front of the captains, a holographic transmission played. Scott saw a face he hadn't seen in years.

Blue tainted glasses partly hid dark circles of exhaustion. His hair had grayed, his forehead, wrinkled; yet, the sparkle in his eyes remained. Attentive, beyond anyone present, a son witnessed his father's plea. Vice-Admiral Sterling's voice came out choked by interference.

"_... S...3. Mothershi...proaching... Nee...r help... Hayes... sit... diverting pow... main... attack po... delta... 2100 hours... S.O.S... assault imminent... " _

As suddenly as it had come, the vision vanished, leaving Scott concerned about the fate of the lost SDF-3 and its crew. A wave of dizziness came over him. In spite of painkillers he had taken, his head pounded.

"Time of transmission," Cooper inquired.

"Taking into account the sub-spatial delay, 1100, ma'am," came the reply from a young ensign. Scott saw Sinclair's face grew somber while a pensive shroud covered Cooper's.

Lorna dismissed the ensign and turned her head towards Sinclair. "This changes our plans," she told him.

"You aren't thinking..."

"You heard Sterling. We have to reach the SDF-3 or, in about six hours, there might be nothing left to be reached!"

"Lorna, there is no way our troops will be ready in such a short time."

"We'll use the Invid troops."

"Even with those aliens... there's not enough time and we can't be sure we can trust them." he spat.

_Oh, we can, _she mused, thinking of Dr. Iskandar's implant and some of its bonus capabilities. "Grant approved their use, Augustus. He is going to demand that we are ready for battle."

"I can't work miracles"

"Then follow orders, Sinclair." Her words stung him.

"I'll follow orders when I receive them form my superior officer," he replied sourly and turned away from her angrily.

"I'll see that you get a memo, Sinclair."

The captain's fists were balled at the sides of his massive body and his face was red. Scott saw how soldiers did their best to keep out of Sinclair's exiting path. Contrarily to what his stature and fierce appearance told, Sinclair was a levelheaded man. What the hell was going on with the SDF-3?

Intrigued, Bernard came close to Cooper. Her fingers moved speedily over a communications terminal. She was, most probably, sending a message to General Grant. When she finished typing, she saw the commander.

"Captain Cooper," he saluted.

"Bernard," she acknowledged and returned his salute. He eased. "What can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to you, Ma'am."

"Not a good time, commander..." She walked toward the exit.

"But... that transmission... Captain, what's going on?" he followed her determined to find out.

Evidently, Sterling's message had taken the young man by surprise yet Lorna Cooper couldn't have guessed the extent of it. She conjectured that due to his injuries, Bernard was probably unaware of the series of distress messages that the SDF-3 had been able to send. At any rate, the massive counterattack Grant was orchestrating loomed, this last transmission would dramatically shift its intended time.

_What a pity_, she thought looking at the commander's bandages. He was one of her best pilots, knew the Invid first hand and had even lead -reluctantly- a hybrid team... _If only Jean Grant would let him fly... _Nothe doctor had been clear and Lorna wouldn't dare cross her. Jean was Vince's Achilles' heel, after all.

"Follow me, commander," Cooper said. "I need to have a word with someone at the scientific research wing. We can talk on the way." Scott complied.

While they walked, it occurred to Lorna Cooper, that Scott Bernard had an interesting story. Had she read in his file that he was the sole survivor of his entire division during earth's second reclamation attempt? More so, had he lost a loved one to the Invid? _Yes._ Lorna had a good memory. His fiancée died along his comrades. He had been so reticent to use Invid in his unit, yet he obeyed orders. Sure, Bernard had reason to loath the aliens. He could become useful, she decided. Perhaps she would take him along during her visit to Iskandar's headquarters.

Commander and captain accessed Mars Base's tunnels.

--------------

Dr. Karl Reed had prepared his final report of the day. Deciding to hand it in personally, he made his way towards the main lab. Isabel Iskandar would surely be there, surrounded by data streams and holographic projections.

He entered the room and saw her. Bluish screen light bounced off her glasses. Her black hair was messily tied in a loose bun, her lab coat, crumpled. She, well, they hadn't gotten much rest since Grant authorized massive implantation. Reed was aware that he too looked disheveled, but Iskandar's appearance was that of a scientist gone mad. It bothered him.

He descended metallic stairs. In spite of the inevitable clanking of his steps, Iskandar was oblivious to his presence. He reached out and patted her shoulder. The woman's body jolted, her mouth let out a foreign curse.

"Reed!" she said once she had identified him. He saw something sinister in her eyes.

"Dr. Iskandar... I am sorry, I didn't mean to startle you..." She recovered her breath.

"I'm fine, Reed," she said, annoyance in her voice. She promptly refocused on whatever it was that was sucking all of her attention. They were silent and suddenly, he was eager to leave.

"This is my report," he said offering it to her. When she didn't reply, he shifted his attention to the screen in front of her. His eyes widened. "What is that?" he inquired concerned.

She looked a him. That look again. Darkness flickered behind her pupils. The corners of her mouth curled upwards, yet more than a smile for Reed, she sported a smirk.

"Is a monitoring software for our implants. Part of what insures that they work perfectly."

"Oh." He thought he knew all about the project, but he wasn't aware of this "software" His eyes started roaming the screen until she placed herself in front of him.

"Thanks for the report, Karl. Go rest now, you need it."

"So do you, Isabel," he said quietly.

"I'll be finishing soon." she said. He understood, nodded and backed away toward the door. All the time, he felt her eyes on him. _What are you up to, Isabel? _he wondered and saw Captain Lorna Cooper approaching along a young, blue-haired officer.

"Dr. Reed," she greeted, he responded.

"Is Dr. Iskandar here?"

"In the lab," he said.

"Thanks." She made her way.

_Can't be good,_ Reed decided.

-----------

"No Scott, you're not well enough to fly!" said Jean Grant getting exasperated at the pilot's insistence.

"I need to be out there, Dr. Grant," he continued eagerly, "I know you can give me an extra dose of the A.R.D."

The information Scott had been able to glean from Captain Cooper and Dr. Iskandar had unsettled him deeply. Besides learning many details regarding the offensive Grant had ordered and the SDF-3's desperate situation, Scott also got the strong impression a shared future for human and Invid wasn't on the women's minds. He played on Cooper's assumption of his hatred towards the aliens to see a hidden side to the captain. She didn't say it out loud, but Scott knew she didn't care for Invid survival, regardless of which side they were fighting on now. As for Iskandar, she seemed plain insane.

"It is too dangerous for your body, I already told Captain Cooper," Jean declared.

"_...in about six hours, there might be nothing left to be reached!" _Cooper's words replayed in Scott's mind. "The forces need every pilot for this offensive. The SDF-3 is so close, Dr Grant!" the commander countered. "This could be that final effort that we need to reach it... "

"There are other pilots, Scott and..." It took her a few seconds to reply this time, "Vince told me the Invid reinforcements seem rather promising."

_'Promising...' You have no idea, Dr. Grant,_ he thought. _"These implants enhance their abilities..." Iskandar paused, looked at Cooper and continued after an approving nod. "But they also grant us control over them." _

"Please," Scott pressed, thinking of his parents and thinking of Ariel. "I need to be there. I'm fine. I've been feeling much better."

Jean eyed him suspiciously. "How many painkillers are you taking per day?"

"_To gain some, commander, we must risk some..." _Cooper had said, factually. "Two," he lied. Jean stared firmly. "All right, three... sometimes."

The doctor sighed and looked into his eager eyes. Jean knew that at the moment, Scott Bernard wouldn't be able to produce the pills he claimed not to have taken, less so pass a strict physical test. He had recovered well for the limited time since his injury and, if she gave him a second dose of meta-duloxilotrin, he would be able to pilot. But there were risks to his health and she just didn't want to take them without a good reason. Jean went to her cabinet and took out the drug, then she walked towards him well aware of his nervousness.

"This," she showed him the crystalline tube, "is not to be taken lightly."

"I know, Dr. Grant. I wouldn't ask if I didn't have reasons..." _"Each number represents an alien," said Iskandar. "Each number represents a 'trustworthy' soldier," added Cooper. _Scott remembered the silent companion to each of those numbers: a timer. He was told each counted down to the point where the implant's protective forcefield would ran out. He saw rows after rows of implants waiting to be placed into unaware Invid. Their macabre glow tainted Iskandar's lab green.

Jean nodded "I thought so." She crossed her arms. "And you are going to have to tell me exactly what those are."

"I... I just can't stand watching without doing something!" A part of the truth. _"When the timers near zero, they can be recharged with a simple procedure... or not," said Iskandar_.

"Many pilots are or have been in that position," said Jean, "I understand it is hard, but you would do more good if you allow yourself to recover fully..."

"No doctor you don't understand, I must be there," Scot insisted, recalling more of Cooper's words. _"General Grant is all for it, Bernard. Of course."_

"Okay, tell me why must you? And it better be a good reason, Scott."

"If you really want to know, I can tell you why he wants a ticket out there, Jean." Dana's voice made doctor and patient turn their heads toward the door the major had been leaning on. One looked at her with curiosity, the other with anxiety.

"Dana! When did you arrive, child?" The doctor gave her a hug. She had known Max and Miriya's daughter since she was little. Dana and her son, Bowie, had been close friends for years. They served together on the army of the Southern Cross and together they escaped the Invid onslaught of earth.

"About 30 hours ago," answered the major.

"It is so good to see you," said Jean. The doctor noticed the strange look on Dana's eyes and Scott's sudden paleness. After reflecting on the young woman's earlier comment, Jean had to wonder what that had been about. "I'm a bit confused here, have you met Commander Bernard, Dana?" she asked looking from one Sterling to the other.

Scott was silent like a tomb.

"No, I haven't met any Bernard," answered Dana, "but I've met Scott Sterling, _here_," he added, looking at her speechless younger brother.

-----------  
For related fan art, visit my website.


	10. First Wave

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 10  
_First Wave_**

--------------

A transparent canopy shut, sealing a man within an hermetic bubble. It was the core of a Robotech beast, cocoon of unnatural material, protector of one frail, natural life. With efficient, countlessly rehearsed movements, the human checked his vessel one last time. Soon after, a powerful engine hummed imperceptibly under his apt command. A gentle buzz, muffled by layers of protective gear, combined itself with the tense throbbing behind his temples.

Deployment loomed and Scott Bernard's mind brimmed with anxiety. It had been minutes since he had seen Invid pilots near their mecha; it had been minutes since he saw Ariel disappear into another beast, much like his own but not the same.

The Veritechs that the aliens piloted had been called bio-robotech weapons. They were lighter, faster and more accurate than human-piloted mecha. The hybrid machines represented Robotechnology's triumph over Protoculture's raw force, its honing by means of artificially enhanced Invid minds. _"Enhancing shackles,"_ Scott knew, _"Green-glowing, deadly shackles." _

Scott's mind was jumbled, fixated on images of Iskandar's implant and possible scenarios for Ariel's, _his Ariel's,_ death.

He knew that she waited amidst a machine designed to wield extraordinary firepower, a hybrid. Ironically, the new veritechs wouldn't reach their full potential. Due to the rashness of the situation, and lack of testing time, their developers had opted to limit their destructiveness. The machines were not completely stable and could inflict irreparable self-blows to the forces if something went awry. Shadow mecha, on the other hand, was slower but its reliability had been throughly tested. Armed to the joints, the tested would complement the new.

Scott breathed, stilled himself, and blocked all noise before battle. The hangar bay's giant hatch rose. He gave the order and thrusters flared, propelling the Raiders into the void.

--------------

Dana followed the progress of the first wave of Grant's attack. "They're all out," she said, mostly to herself.

"Do you think it will be long for them to secure an access path, major?" a familiar low voice inquired. Major Sterling smirked.

"We'll have to hold off and see," she replied as she glanced at him over an armored shoulder. He nodded.

Under watchful eyes, Spartas were being loaded into an armored carrier. As Sterling waited along her unit, she thought about the owner of that soothing voice. _Angelo. Always there, always paying attention to me... Why did you follow me into this new adventure, Angie? Why risk your life in some attempt to rescue people that mean nothing to you...? _

"Are you eager to get into that tin box, Lieutenant Dante?" she inquired shifting her eyes from him to the transport. "You used to hate that sort of thing."

His lips turned upwards imperceptibly. "As long as you're suffering through it too, I'll be fine with it, major."

Dana said nothing but decided that a heart to heart conversation was long overdue between her and the lieutenant. Sadly, even if there had been a time when she would have indulged herself -looming battle notwithstanding- and wandered down that path right away, she realized with uncharacteristic finality that now was not the time. Dana was a grown up and she forced herself to focus on the current situation.

_Bernard's out there now,_ she reminded herself, _high on those chemicals Jean doped him with...__Not Bernard, Scott_, she corrected, a brother that she never thought she'd meet. Apprehension assailed her and she looked distractedly at the glossy do adorning each of her fingertips. If she was one to bite her nails, it would have been the perfect moment. _Focus, Dana, focus..._

Perhaps she shouldn't have aided the little one into conning the good doctor and getting his not-fully-recovered ass out there. _What if he gets hurt? What if he dies in battle? _The scars of losing someone dear were still fresh on the young woman's psyche. _He better not... Mom'll skin me if she knows I had anything to do with it... _A fear she had fought hard to control resurfaced; there was a chance she'd never see her parents again. Dana squashed the feeling. _I'm going to rescue them_, she declared firmly and chided herself for even considering the possibility of failure._ I'll take on those enemy bastards one by one if I need to. And Scott will be fine as well, damn it! _she cursed mentally.

She didn't want to lose her parents, brother, or... or Angelo for that matter. Life owed her a chance to be with them, see them age_. Why not?_ It was just fair after it had taken Zor, so many comrades and loved ones from her.

Dana Sterling tensed and clutched her helmet hard. She caught lieutenant Dante looking at her intently. Her eyes held his gaze. She was going to get what she wanted this time.

_Clear a path for me, little brother... _she wished. _We'll get them out._

--------------

Scott's craft moved slowly, it seemed to glide, as if it simply dangled in open space. It was a strange sensation, not strong enough to cloud his perception, but not helpful either. Maybe the drug Dr. Grant gave him was having more adverse effects than expected.

He stilled, trying to clear his senses. He needed all five and a sixth, if he had any. On the Alpha's upper console, a blinking dot marked 03 caught his attention. _Ariel._ He could see her mecha flanking him on the right and, if he looked hard enough, he could make out her profile in the distance. He thought he had a few seconds to spare straining his sight at it, when Lieutenant Hopkins's face appeared on his main screen.

Her eyes were framed by dark shallow circles. Lack of sleep was evident, maybe even worry after what she had confessed to know. She avoided looking at him directly and followed protocol strictly while she transmitted the offensive's intended coordinates.

The data entered, his Alpha's directional system adjusted itself accordingly. Without working radars, said spatial coordinates were only an informed guess regarding the enemy's whereabouts. The Invid members of Raider squadron were supposed to be capable of sensing the presence of the invisible foe, however, their ability had a limited range. And they were far.

"Godspeed commander," she said, suddenly searching for his eyes on the screen. "Please be careful," she added on a private channel, just loud enough into her headset for the words to reach his ears.

"Will do," was his reply. It hit him then: she cared for him. Her concern, her nervousness, her reaction to Dana, her odd behavior... _But_ w_hy? _What had he done for her to care?

Distant stars blinked eerily before his mecha burst into full speed, making them streak an immensely black canvas white. His squad fell into formation and soon enough, the enemy fell onto them. The attack had begun.

--------------

Following their commanding officer's orders, the Invid advanced in sync with each other. Furthermore, they seemed to fly in pairs by instinct. Whenever he could spare a chance, Scott's sight followed Raider 03. Ariel's combat was different from what he had seen that other almost-fatal time. Gone were her hesitation and her fear; she maneuvered her craft with precision, almost mechanical precision. The Invid aimed, shot and hit. Her enhanced awareness allowed her to almost predict movements about to be made against her; and when she didn't, another like her would take the offender down. Scott realized with mixed feelings that those infamous implants were doing their job just fine. With dread, he pictured the devices and their counters running out of time.

Raider 07_ -_by now Scott had him identified as _Uld_- covered Ariel's back and she did the same for him. Jealousy cruised the officer's heart as a result of seeing them fighting together. Yet, he reigned over his irrational feelings; he didn't need their distraction. He willed his throbbing brain to strictly follow the attack plan. It was the best he could do to ensure everyone's safety.

Hours lapsed. Invid and human fought side by side. The former's increased speed and sensitivity took care of isolating and slowing the enemy down, clearing the way for the latter's fire power to annihilate efficiently. In the distance, at last, Scott distinguished the battered shape of the SDF-3. Shivers ran down his back and firmed his resolve to move forward.

As the enemy's fierceness increased, explosions rocked his Alpha. "Commander..." he missed the voice calling him. He managed to stabilize it and, sending all power to his rear thrusters, Scott launched his Alpha across the distance. The battle fortress dominated his thoughts.

"Commander..."Again, he didn't hear. _It is so close! _he thought. As he raced a sinuous course, his mind was filled with images of his missing parents. He didn't hear Cooper's orders or see the enemy ships behind him; yet, Ariel had.

"Scott!" a scream pierced his ears."Ariel?" he mumbled.

"Move right!" she yelled again. Scott came to his senses in time to feel enemy fire caressing his Alpha's fuselage. An explosion rippled the vacuum and debris flew in front of him. She had destroyed one of his pursuers. But there was another one who still fired at him.

He dodged the blasts and, in mid motion, transformed his craft. He cut propulsion abruptly only to resume it upwards while turning. Scott hadn't anticipated the enemy's sudden course change. It was seeking to ram itself against his battloid. Scott used the mecha's arms to divert the impact. It only half worked. The right appendage failed to get a grip and ended embedded into the craft while the left was latched about it. Inertia pushed the tangled mecha until they came to a stop. Ariel's heart raced watching the immobile metallic heap.

"That was a close one," said Bernard into his intercom after a short while. Ariel released the breath she had been holding.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. _All things considered,_ he thought, while he furiously tried to activate his mecha, "but I've lost all power. My controls are not responding."

"I'm getting you out," she said while she mentally asked Uld to cover them.

"Negative," said Scott. "Get out of here. It is dangerous for you to stay." She paid him no heed as she proceeded to look for the best way to remove his mecha. It was no use. The impact had fused the enemy and Scott's crafts together.

"Seems this one developed a permanent attachment to you... I'll have to drag you both."

"Ariel, I said..." He was about to complain when Lieutenant Hopkin's face appeared on his screen.

"All units, return to base," she said.

"What?" he could still see the trapped ship. "We can't stop now, the SDF-3 is within our reach!" he yelled, helplessly trapped in his uncooperative Alpha.

"An enemy mothership is approaching, Commander. General Grant has ordered the second wave's attack to be diverted toward it."

"A mothership?"

"I'm sorry sir... " The rest of her words were lost to him. Ariel dragged his damaged mecha toward safety as he watched the battle fortress fade out of view. _We were so close..._

--------------

For related fan art, visit my website.


	11. Caught

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 11**  
_**Caught**_

--------------

"How much longer, chief?" asked Lorna Cooper while she moved around the security perimeter. The chief followed her diligently, deterring her from crossing the danger barricades on the hangar's floor. Unlike the scientific group lead by Dr. Reed, which waited patiently for the chief's clearance, the captain couldn't keep still. She followed the slow progress of robotic-saw wielding workers who tried to untangle a battloid from an alien craft.

"A bit longer, ma'am." The chief held the captain's disapproving stare. "The bastard's solid, and my men have to proceed with extreme care. The boogie could be booby-trapped."

"Hn," she managed to let out just before a commotion started near the bulky metallic scrap.

"Lift!" was heard from a distance. The chief excused himself and hurried toward his crew. After the booby-trap comment, observation from afar didn't seem so bad to the captain. Cooper witnessed the battloid's remains being secured and hauled away.

"The impact made a hole, sir!" a worker informed the chief.

"All the way to the core of it!" the older man sanctioned, taking in the gash's depth. He observed the composition of the craft's outer shell like strata on a mountain's cliff. It had a thick layer, spongy and porous. _Angel cake,_ he thought, following the indentation. "A light over here!" he commanded and positioned it so that it bathed the craft's hidden innards. _Blasted thing's hollow, _he discovered and ran an impromptu density analysis. _Well, that's safe enough, _he decided.

"Let the scientists in," he ordered.

--------------

Cool air collected in her lungs.Whenever she was ordered into the synchronizing chamber, Ariel had a lot of trouble keeping her eyelids from drooping. Maybe it was the low buzzing sound the machine made, maybe the slight cold it surrounded her with; she wasn't sure. It was her second time in it and the feeling hadn't lost its strangeness.

As on cue, a reassuring hand set itself on her shoulder gently. _Uld_. She turned and saw Koreen standing behind him in the queue. _"Consider this an order to take a short nap..."_ he told her mentally.

_30 minutes,_ Ariel thought, faced forward and recalled Doctor Iskandar's voice. _"For your and the implant's health,"_ she had joked, her eyes danced behind stylish frames.The woman explained benefits that far outweighed the burdens of a half-an-hour procedure. _"It is absolutely necessary," _she had declared, mock-sentencing the Invid to synchronization periods every few days.

Ariel backed into the tight contraption, feeling like a cat in water's proximity. She scooped her hair to the side and let her weight go. The implant on her upper back came in contact with a dark glossy patch. Her body sunk into the machine's cushioned interior as it spun from vertical to horizontal.

"_I'm off to sleep on the job,"_ she fared her comrades good bye, eliciting their grins.

As the chamber was activated, Ariel felt a pulse on her back. A memory popped into her mind: a long forgotten human burial she witnessed. The lined coffin, she realized, hadn't seemed much less comfortable. She shuddered.

-------------

"You wanted the drug, didn't you?"

"Yes, I did." _Duh!_ he felt like adding. "But you didn't have to tell Dr. Grant about me!"

"She wouldn't have given it to you otherwise!" she bit back. _Ungrateful brat..._

Too pairs of blue eyes faced-off in the middle of a hallway, interrupting the flow of passers-by.

Dana had finally caught up with her brother after he had been freed from his Alpha's remains and debriefed. He found him edgy beyond his usual self -not that she knew him that much after their little time re-discovering each other. _It has to be the SDF,_ she guessed from his attitude. _The fortress' precious crew had been so close! It must have been hard for Scott to let go... _Maybe she was going about this the wrong way. Dana's eyes softened and she relented; she told herself that she was the older, wiser sister and finally let out a sigh.

The younger Sterling saw the change on his sister's face and couldn't keep his anger up; then she sighed, further vanishing his annoyance at what she had done. It was obvious she didn't want to antagonize, less so in such a public area. When she had called his name, he was headed to the pilot's room to stand by and perhaps catch a glance of Ariel... _No!_ he told himself, he was headed there to await new orders.

"Look," she said, "I only wanted to help you. I know Jean, she wouldn't have budged if she didn't understand how important it was for you."

"I'm sorry," he said after a pause. "I know your intentions were good... And maybe you are right and telling Dr. Grant was the only way." His shoulders sagged in defeat.

"She won't tell anyone," Dana reassured, noticing his demeanor. "Jean's like a tomb when it comes to secrets," she added bringing her hand to his shoulder. Scott covered it with his.

"Thanks."

"Hey, what are big sisters for?" She hugged him on an impulse and he surprised himself by hugging her back. For a moment he was unconcerned about the world around them. It was good to have his sister close. For far too long he had been away from his family; for far too long he had deserted them. His vision caught people starring. He _saw_ their faces, but his brain refused to process the visual stimuli; their features became a nameless combination of color. In spite of what his sister had said, Scott wasn't sure he could trust neither Jean nor... Grace. One way or another, the nature of his relationship with Dana was bound to be revealed sooner rather than later. His mind was occupied pondering just that when he heard a gasp. Suddenly, his brain _saw_ the face of one of those busybodies spying on them...

"Ariel!" The word left his mouth with a gasp.

"Ariel?" Dana let go of him and, after following his transfixed gaze, focused on a pretty red-head whose jaw just hung open. She saw her brown eyes watering and then her bolting. _Wait a second... was that an Invid uniform?_

Shock.

Dana nearly missed the Invid's companion, who immediately chased after his fleeing comrade. Her eyes blinked between the spot where the Invid had stood and his brother's livid visage.

Disbelief.

She saw his embarrassment, his fear and something akin to guilt. It wasn't hard to put two and two together. _He cares for the girl... An Invid... Mom's IS going to have a fit._

Realization.

The major collected herself, remembering to close her own jaw in the process. "I suggest you follow," she told her frozen sibling.

-------------

"I am a such fool!" the Invid cried. She moved fast through long corridors and was leaving behind transited passages. _"He's on Mars... maybe married for all I know," _she remembered a conversation she had with Rook before embarking in her current ill-fated adventure. _"I doubt that. He has it for you..."_ her friend had answered at that time. _He may not be married... but he definitely has "it" for someone else..._ An image of Scott embracing that woman came to her and with it, a bout of sobbing.

So much had changed in her life. She had gone from a being who drifted along to someone who pursued her own wants. From being afraid of holding a weapon, she had become part of one. The direness of the situation had firmed her resolve. Ending the war and rescuing the SDF-3 was worth many sacrifices, including having a foreign device in her body and going through the bothersome synchronization process it entailed. Ariel remembered thinking that it wasn't permanent; she would be rid of it.

Lorna Cooper's words of encouragement resurfaced from her memory. The captain knew how to inspire. _"This is our chance to seal definite peace between our races, this is an opportunity to prove human and Invid can work together." _Ariel and her comrades wanted to earn their place among humans, they wanted full acceptance. Her naivety kept from her consciousness any hidden human agendas regarding her kind. She was blinded by her desire for a particular human to accept her, by her hopes that he could love her one day, when she proved to him that the weren't that different.

_But that letter he sent me_... She had found solace in those words. "_I wish things had been different,"_ he had written, _"that for once, I had followed my heart and gone after you..." _Warm streams flowed anew as she felt those sentences which previously had held her heart together now ripping it open.

In the end, she had been the one who followed her heart and went after him. Rejection was what she found. _"One day, if I make it back somehow..." _Of course, he had written that to console her, not to encourage her. He never planned to see her again. Scott would never return her feelings because he already had someone to receive his... _someone human like him._

It was then, that Uld found her. He held her, like he had done after her first meeting with Scott. Again, he soothed her, caught tears another had caused. He reached into her mind and felt all she felt, above everything, the pain of love, unrequited. And he decided Ariel's love was what he wanted, to cherish and return. He held her troubled face in his hands and wiped the salty drops away. Before she knew it, he had leaned in and kissed her.

Yet, Uld wasn't the only one who found Ariel. Scott did, too.

--------------

"We have it, General," Lorna Cooper announced interrupting Vince Grant's meeting with Captain Sinclair. A middle aged scientist stood seemingly out of breath at her side. The superior officer gave the pair his attention while the sidestepped captain offered them a glare which, given his fearsome physique, could only cause alarm.

"Analysis of the craft was completed," she explained unaffected by Sinclair's reaction unlike her companion, "they are drones, remote controlled, hollow."

"Remote controlled? How?"

"Tamron waves," Cooper said. Vince's blank face prompted her to introduce Dr. Reed who could explain scientific discoveries better than she could.

"They are extremely low frequency waves, General Grant, difficult to receive and even more difficult to transmit. Our experts had completely ignored them as potential means of remote-controlled warfare, until now."

"How is the enemy able to use them?"

"We don't know how they are transmitting them with certainty. How they are receiving them, however, we have just managed to reverse-engineer. The captured drone is made almost in its entirety of a foam which amplifies Tamron waves and transmits them to a membrane at its core. This membrane is simple computer that controls the ship's movements."

"I suppose your scientific team has a way of taking advantage of this knowledge, Dr. Reed?"

"Because we were able to reverse-engineer the process, we can build a detector and relay the data to our pilots."

"So we wont be blind to the enemy anymore," put in Sinclair, breaking the stoic silence that he had assumed since being interrupted.

"Indeed, sir,"

Vince pondered the information he just learned. "But what about the transmission mechanism?" His focus shifted to Reed. "Is it possible to disrupt it?"

"Without their guiding waves we can make quick work of the drones and attack the mothership directly," observed Cooper.

"That would be ideal, yes. But blocking these kind of waves would require deflectors the size of a planet or a small moon, at least. That's nearly impossible to achieve."

"Nearly, doctor?" Vince's eyes made the scientist uncomfortable.

"Uh... well, it is just a theory, no one has ever tried..."

"Get me a way of disrupting those signals, Dr. Reed."

"I... I'll do all I can, sir."

With that, Vince dismissed the scientist and ordered his captains to prepare for the third wave of the attack. The path to the besieged SDF-3 remained blocked and, within it, good officers, comrades and friends grew closer to being lost.

--------------

To see this chapter's illustration, visit my website.


	12. Backlash

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 12**

_**Backlash**_

--------------

Pressed hard against a dark alley's wall a man and a woman kissed. Her hands were tangled in his hair while his roamed the sides of her body. The orderly bun on top of her head came undone, letting strands of blond hair fall onto her and his shoulders.

Tired of the cold surface behind her, Grace Hopkins placed her hands on the strong chest in front of her. She pushed its owner aside just enough to pin him to the wall instead of her. "Your turn, commander," she said. Her lips caressed his earlobe on their path down to his mouth. She kissed him hard.

Despite her roughness, her lips were soft. Scott's thoughts wandered, tripping on the memory of the lips of another... softer, gentle, shy. Glimpses of pale skin and brown eyes followed... _Ariel..._

The moment he saw Uld and her kissing, Scott finally lost it. The emotional walls he had surrounded himself with collapsed under the weight of battle, his parents and sister, and his undefined -or nonexistent- relationship with Ariel. Deep inside, he had always dreaded the moment when she moved on. Jealousy and rational thought clashed, the former claiming victory last. He hated that bastard Uld with all his being. Eager to numb himself against the pain of Ariel's betrayal, he deepened the kiss.

How he had ended there with Grace, Scott didn't remember and didn't particularly care. Incredulity and shock had taken hold of him and pushed him hastily away from the sight of Ariel in Uld's arms. Erased by an anger fueled haze, his recollection of aimlessly wandering Mars Base's tunnels was fuzzy at most. A pair of green eyes beckoned him out of his trance. They were care-filled eyes; or was it lust what shone in them? The woman he now held had looked at him full of concern and want. She offered comfort and he took it.

--------------

Myriad images bombarded the eyes of Dr. Karl Reed. Diagrams of waves and multidimensional representations of their formulas were depicted on most of them.

His fingers pushed keys on his terminal frenetically. He needed to find knowledge buried under petabites of data. _How to make a deflector for a wave of such magnitude? What in the universe can I use? _Reed remembered the Tamron wave-problem had been solved before... theoretically. Its impractical application never granted an actual field test. The whole treaty had fallen into obscurity after more than fifty years. _I need Dr. Tamron's notes. If only I could remember where to look... If only... Damn! if only those Nichol's cyber implants had ever worked..._ her mused._ I'd have plugged myself and boom! Done hunting for needles in haystacks... Damn you Tamron and damn you Nichols! _"To hell all waves!" he added for good measure.

"Sorry, Dr. Reed?" said one of his assistants, "did you say something?"

Reed turned in his chair, unaware of having spoken that last part aloud. "No... Robert. It was nothing," he replied. The assistant nodded and went back to his assigned task.

--------------

No one spoke. In lieu of words, the clatter of pilots getting into their respective armor filled the space. Invid and human alike worked in silence, their minds rather absorbed by menial, ordinary tasks than by the enormity of the looming final battle.

Unlike her comrades, a certain Invid couldn't help but dwell on subjects of a completely different nature. Two males to be precise: Scott, who _she_ loved while his feelings, unfortunately, belonged to someone else, and Uld, who loved _her_, or at least desired to learn all about that emotion with and from her. Not wanting it, Ariel's mind conjured possible scenarios of a romantic relationship with her wing mate. She shivered, unprepared for what turned up. It had always been Scott in her dreams, no one else.

A buckle fell out from the Invid's unsteady grasp. _What is it with me?_ Ariel couldn't help but think that her latest synchronization period hadn't fully worked. _I'm just nervous... _she told herself. Patiently, she held the contraption anew and directed it towards its counterpart on her armor. Her trembling fingers proved a hindrance as, once more, the hook failed to latch, causing the whole leg piece to fall to the floor noisily.

_Please don't look at me, please don't look at me... _she repeated inwardly but could feel eyes on her. She didn't dare look back, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze, Uld's in particular. After he kissed her, she left him without saying a word. Her cheeks warmed up at the thought of what she had picked up from his mind.

She saw the fallen armor piece, sighed, annoyed at her own incompetence, and leaned down to recover it.

"Let me help you with that," Uld, always opportune, said and promptly helped the nervous Invid to latch the armor in place. _Just what I needed,_ Ariel thought anxiously, said nothing and shook harder. He was too close to her as they finished. She saw his questioning expression, but before she could think of something suitable to say, or most likely stutter, someone beat her to it.

"You'd think the human scientists would have made these things easier to get into..." Koreen's voice sounded sweeter than ever to one grateful Ariel, who didn't waste time at creating a little distance between herself and a certain male. The relief was short lived, however, as alarms erupted throughout the base and a new wave of pilots rushed into the room. Scott was among them.

As always, when two people are intent on avoiding each other, Scott and Ariel's eyes were bound to meet. She didn't want to look at him and quickly fixed her gaze on the floor. Accordingly, he looked elsewhere as rapidly as possible; yet, he couldn't help but looking back at once when his brain acknowledged the male standing next to her. Jealousy bit deeply.To worsen matters, Uld, sensing a wave of uneasiness rising from Ariel, decided to close the gap she had wedged between them.

_That son of a... _thought Commander Bernard, not ready for Uld's next move. The alien pilot placed his arm around Ariel's waist. The object of Uld's affectionate grip, in the meantime, was at a loss. She faced her unexpected guardian angel and blinked, stunned.

From Scott's colored perspective, her confused eyes appeared adoring. It hurt; he had to look away. Pain turned into anger and then hate, hate against everything and everyone, above all, himself. He realized that he truly loved her, and he alone had pushed her away.

As if the already tense atmosphere needed further strain due to bad timing, a brooding blue-haired commander was caught unaware by a pretty blond, who placed her arms around him. "Please take care of yourself," she said into his ear, giving him a quick and unexpected kiss. She was gone as quickly as she had appeared; the damage was done, nevertheless.

Scott caught a glimpse of Ariel's back. His sight followed her as she moved toward her mecha. Uld trailed closely behind. However unfair, the human couldn't help but loathe the Invid who now had what he foolishly rejected. 

"All pilots to shadow fighters," a synthetic voice boomed. Aching, Scott finished adjusting his armor, donned his helmet and climbed into his alpha.

"Prepare for launch in bays four, six, eight..." the voice continued while the commander tested his instruments. With all in order, he lead the Raiders toward their place in the launching queue.

A cold sensation set into Scott's veins as the countdown ran to its end. "Launch in T minus 5 seconds..." Inertial forces pushed him when his Alpha darted into battle-infested space.

--------------

Lisa followed the movements of the forces on her screen._ Those colors... They are under General Grant,_ she realized. Judging by the attack's timing, Vince had gotten Max's message. _Thanks God you didn't give up on us, old friend, _she thought.

Anticipating the alien mothership's approach, Lisa had ordered all non-essential power to be diverted to the main canon. It was a risky move as it implied leaving the fortress' surface more vulnerable. The giant monster was now in visual range, yet the speed of its approach had diminished considerably. Vince was buying the stranded ship more time.

Lisa observed that, in spite of having lost at first, Grant's squadrons were attacking more successfully now. _It seems as if they are capable of predicting the movements of the enemy, _she mused.

Suddenly explosions shook Admiral Hayes Hunter's bridge. A group of nasty alien crafts decided to go suicidal against the SDF-3's armored deck; they crashed and exploded, their flaming fragments speed away, barely missing the control tower.

The lights went off for a few seconds, panic invaded the room. "Status?" Lisa inquired once she had steadied herself against her command post.

"Decks five, seven, nine and 13 suffered integrity breaches," informed her first officer. "Repair crews are scrambling, Admiral," he continued as raw reports reached his station.

"Miriya, what's the situation down there?"

"We don't have enough personnel to fix the damage before it compromises the ship's integrity, Admiral."

"Dr. Einsler," Lisa opened an audio channel with the scientist. "Can we seal some of the affected areas?"

"Yes, Admiral, it can be done for most of them."

"Work with Miriya, doctor. I need this ship to hold for as much time as we can get." The doctor nodded. _Hold on for me, _she asked of her ship. _Help is on its way_... _hold on for my crew and my family._

The battle fortress would have complied, if it wasn't for another wave of crashing drones. The ship rocked violently and commotion took hold of an emergency-lit bridge.

"Decks two and three received direct hits!" cried the first officer.

_The med bay! Lisa thought_, horrified. _Oh Rick!_

--------------

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	13. Battle

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 13**

_**Battle **_

--------------

Grant's forces advanced in synchrony. In the massive court, opponents were far from playing an even game. Dr. Reed's discovery and the bio-robotech units had shifted the battle's balance, giving the RDF an advantage over its foe's drones.

Luminous circles flashed and dimmed where combat raged. Human and Invid guided their mecha through enemy fire. Inside her cockpit, Ariel's helmet reflected deadly streaks of light as she partook in the hunt as both hunter and prey.

She fought with all her strength; she gave the battle all her skill and all her thought. She pushed herself harder than ever; she had to, because if she let her concentration go, even for a second, her mind would spiral back to Scott. A thought of him, an image would be all it would take for her fragile control to shatter. She pushed her emotions aside, yet it was difficult to keep the lid closed.

Her mind strove to wander, so she shoved it toward a different path. She longed to see Rand, Rook and the baby, Lancer and Sera, Annie and Lunk; she longed for the ocean and the sunset on earth. This was it, the last battle. If she survived, she'd go back to her friends without a backward glance. There was nothing here for her. The quest that brought her to Mars was a lost cause and she had the feeling that her tour of duty would end on this day, one way or another.

--------------

Scott Bernard's Alpha banked in a controlled motion to avoid a round of enemy blasts. His mind was clouded by anger. A part of him realized the negative feelings that his jealousy of Uld had ignited wouldn't serve any purpose. The officer struggled to compose himself; the enemy was relentless and the battle demanded all his attention.

Reluctantly, Scott had kept his distance form Ariel. It was the best he could do to keep his mind aimed at destroying as many drones as possible. The irony of having to keep away from one that he loved to better protect her wasn't lost on him. His sister had made him see how the better he fought the enemy, the better chances his loved ones had of surviving.

Before he entered the hangar, Scott had met Dana Sterling one more time. It was because of her that he had been able to pull himself together for battle. Without him saying a thing, she knew he was breaking down. The connection they shared, regardless of growing away from each other during their entire lives, amazed him. Dana helped him gain back his focus, which seemed irreparably lost at that point. Her words had been harsh and angry, yet comforting in the end

"You are a soldier, Scott. You will go out there and do what you were trained to do."

"I've made a mess out of things... I... I can't... "

"You can!" she yelled at him, grabbing and shaking him by the arms, "and you will. You are going to fight this battle!"

"Dana..."

"You know what? Bernard might be excused! He can whine and quit right now for all I care!" she had said angrily. "But Scott Sterling isn't. You gotta go out there and help defeat this enemy, brother. Our chances are the best they have been in a long time. You gotta help! You have to fight for Max and Miriya, and for all the people stranded in the battle fortress! Damn, you gotta go out there and fight for that Invid chick of yours!"

He looked down as he regained himself. His sister's words had hit home.

"Fight for those you love, Scott. The better you do your job, the better the chances of all of us being together again."

He hugged her tight. "Thank you," he said; she patted his back.

"No matter what mess you're in, Scott, you can fix it. Remember that," she told him softly and felt him nodding lightly against her shoulder.

"Watch out for yourself out there, little brother, will you?" she told him as he released her.

"And who will watch out for you?" he asked. She smiled.

"Leave the grown-ups alone," she said sighing, "I can take care of myself, you know." And Scott knew she could. She was, after all, the legendary Major Dana Sterling, his sister.

"I'm serious, Scott," she scolded lastly, "I don't want you to lose track of your mission or your responsibilities because of me," she searched his eyes, "promise you wont!" she demanded, "promise me!" So he did.

As a closeby blast shook his Alpha, Scott refocused on his destructive task. It was not easy, even aided by Dr. Reed's enemy movement relay system. Still, it was taking too long to dispose of those annoying drones. A glowing green device flashed in Scott's memory. Every second counted for the unknowing Invid; their protective shields depleting as their implants' counters ticked.

--------------

Red eyed, over-caffeinated Karl Reed felt an urge to violently destroy his computer terminal's screen, for the second time in 36 hours. He recalled that it hadn't really been that bad when he did it the first time; in fact he had felt great. One thing bothered him about the incident: his assistants seemed to have made themselves scarce afterwards. _They don't think I'm a violent man, do they?_ Because he was far from it, he reassured himself. _It was stress, just stress..._

After the display hit the floor and spilled its contents in a disorderly mess, sparks traversed tiny conductors, hitting the core all at once. It was burnt, fried. The fuming, crispy circuitry appeased his frustration with Isabel Iskandar and Tamron's god-dammed impossible-to-deflect waves.

Edgy, he rubbed his already abused eyes. His instincts screamed at him; that woman was up to something, something bad. Her lab had been out-of-limits for him since he discovered her entranced by that implant-monitoring software. If only he had time to figure out what she was hiding...

Yet, at the moment, he was faced with another more pressing dead-end and the screen appeared a good candidate to take his ire -for lack of a better victim.

Destiny, however, had other plans.

With a frustrated sigh, that sounded more like a repressed grunt, he lifted his right hand to strike the offending inanimate object and get it over with. It was going to be one mighty blow, yet overworked Dr. Reed had forgotten the cup of coffee that rested on his desk. His forearm made contact with it, spilling its boiling contents over himself and his innocent keyboard. They both sizzled, the synthetic keyboard even foamed.

Reed yelped calling his assistants to the scene immediately. One of them helped him with his arm while another called a cleaning crew. Between the pain and the tangy aroma of burnt plastic, Dr. Reed's mind made a connection. Who would have thought destruction was going to be more than therapeutic this time.

--------------

"General Grant!" Karl Reed yelled, reaching the military officer and struggling to catch his breath. The doctor didn't seem at all concerned about having interrupted a meeting between Vince and his captains. The news he had come to share was worth it.

"Dr. Reed, is everything OK?" Vince asked looking at the bandage on his arm.

"More than OK, general," he gasped, "I have news."

"You have found a way to deflect those control waves?" inquired Captain Cooper.

"No captain, that's impossible, unfortunately. The mass needed is too great to..." Vince frowned, making the Dr. decide to get to the point. "But we don't have to deflect them."

"What?" gasped Christensen.

"We can damage the drone's ability to receive them instead."

Reed explained that the enemy ships worked much like an ultra-sensitive ear. If exposed to waves significantly outside of the range they were designed to withstand, their receptors would get damaged.

"Or like when an electrical device enters in contact with hot liquid -any liquid for that matter. It causes a surcharge you see; only this time it is a wave and it would turn the drones deaf. In a sense..."

"How do we do this, Dr. Reed?" Vince interrupted the excited scientist.

"Well, a wave capable of damaging their mechanism was synthesized in our labs. It is safe to our forces, as they aren't sensitive enough to be affected by it. Now all we have to do is distribute it over the battle coordinates. We just send it to each of our pilots and have them blast the enemy with them.

"How long do you need to set everything up?"

"About 60 minutes."

"What will happen to the drones?" asked Cooper.

"We can't tell with complete accuracy but, by the way their mechanisms are set up, they will most likely be disoriented and lose the ability to fight. They will lose any means of coordinated attacks."

"That would be enough to ease our clearing of a path to the battle fortress," said Sinclair.

"Proceed immediately, Dr. Reed," ordered Vince, "inform all our forces, use maximum encryption protocols," he added, facing his captains.

"And Sinclair..."

"Yes, sir?"

"Ready the recovery teams."

--------------

On Commander Bernard's screen, Raider 09 moved slowly, too slowly.

"Raider 09, you are lagging behind, reunite with your squadron..." Scott heard Lieutenant Hopkins' voice over the tac net, "...I repeat, reunite with your squadron." Yet the Invid pilot didn't acknowledge or obey the control room officer's order.

"Raider 09, what's your status?" Scott himself called this time. No intelligible reply came, just meaningless, pained sounds. The mecha had all but stopped by now, so the commander decided to tune his screen to the Invid pilot's cockpit. He saw his head tilted to the front; he was very still. He was also an easy target.

"Raider 09, report your status," he insisted, halting his Alpha. Silence.

"Raider 02, lead the squadron in my place, I'm going back for 09."

"Yes, sir."

As Scott moved toward the immobile mecha, he had its pilot's image on the screen. With dread he saw him move, twist and then convulse violently. He could have sworn that he saw green light seeping out of his helmet.

It wasn't long before he he heard Captain Cooper's voice. "He's dead, Bernard," she said, "return to your squadron at once!"

"What happened?" he asked, knowing the horrific answer. Cooper didn't bother to reply.

"Bernard, return to your squadron! We are about to transmit!" Scott waited, trying to piece it all together.

"Return this instant!" she bellowed.

_Oh God, the counters are nil, _realized the commander. He left the dead pilot and rushed back to his unit. The drones where quick to blast Raider 09 out of existence and then chased after the fleeing veritech.

The Invid were running out of time. While he escaped his pursuers, all Scott could think about was Ariel. _Fight for those you love, _his sister had told him... Ariel couldn't end like 09, he wouldn't let her.

--------------

For related fan art, visit my website.


	14. Choice

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 14**

_**Choice**_

--------------

The flaming remains of a beam fell in front of Max Sterling and his men. An inferno blocked their way to the med bay.

"Is this the only way, commander?" he asked as his men struggled to extinguish the flames.

"Yes, sir, unfortunately. The fire completely destroyed all alternate routes."

"It will soon will take care of this one too, it appears," said Max. "We need to put this fire out," he ordered.

"We are almost out of carbon dioxide extinguishers, sir."

"Send for more, then. We need to reach the med bay before the fire destroys this tunnel."

"Provisions in this area of the fortress are exhausted, sir. They will have to be brought from the main storage area."

"That's on the other side of the ship! How long is it going to take?"

"About 30 minutes, sir. The way is blocked by debris."

"God damn it! We don't have that much time."

"Sir, perhaps we can create a vacuum in this section of the ship, it will control the fire," a young lieutenant offered.

"Get me a map of this section, Lopez," the vice-admiral ordered.

"Yes, sir." Promptly, the ensign downloaded the requested map into his hand-held device.

"The med bay will be affected too," the lieutenant said. Max listened and saw that the tunnel and most of the bay shared the same air supply. "Everyone there could be in danger of asphyxiation, including Admiral Hunter," declared the officer circling the zone with her finger.

"But the Admiral is in a special regeneration chamber, I believe it keeps its own oxygen supply," another of Max's men said.

"Call doctor Einsler, confirm this information," Sterling ordered, "and alert all personnel. Find out if there is anyone in there without access to a space-suit."

"Yes, sir."

--------------

"All squadrons stand by and prepare to receive signal," Lieutenant Hopkins said over the tac net. "Signal in 5... 4... 3... 2..." All pilots disengaged momentarily and readied their receptors. "Signal transmitting..." Grace announced as the RDF's mecha received and recorded Dr. Reed's drone-crippling wave.

"Signal complete," announced Hopkins. "Prepare to amplify... Amplification in 5... 4... 3... 2..."

The wave flooded battle-infested space and hit the enemy drones one by one. They stopped moving as if somewhere a master switch had been turned off. Joyous screams and congratulations filled General Grant's command center.

Off in a corner, Dr. Karl Reed smiled, relieved. However, his joy didn't last long; he remembered Dr. Iskandar, who was mysteriously absent. Discreetly, he left the room.

--------------

Adrenaline run high among the ranks. Search and recovery shuttles were launched while Alpha squadrons finished clearing a path to the stranded SDF-3. Leading the charge was Major Dana Sterling. Her heart pounded in her chest but she showed herself calm and collected. Soon she'd see her parents, soon, after so long. Her transport was the first to reach the fortress.

"Flames are obstructing most undamaged bays," she told her right hand, Lieutenant Angelo Dante.

"We are going to have to put those fires out if we want to dock," he replied.

"Open a channel with the fortress, lieutenant. Let's see where they suggest we begin."

Dana could barely contain the wave of emotion she felt when she saw her mother's face on the shuttle's screen. On her part, the stoic Zentraedi, Miriya Parino, was overwhelmed and couldn't speak. In the end it was Dana who broke the silence.

"We request permission to dock, ma'am," she said trying very hard to contain herself.

"Dana?" Tears formed in the emerald eyes and rolled down silently.

"Ma'am..." words weren't coming to the major.

"Permission granted," the mother's voice wavered.

Seeing the emotional state of his superior officer, Angelo Dante took control. "We need to put out the fires, ma'am. Tell us, which bays are most operational?"

Miriya needed a few seconds to recover a semblance of control and gave the lieutenant the information he requested. With a coordinated effort, the shuttles proceeded to the indicated bays, helped control the fire, and deployed search and recovery personnel inside the battered ship.

Dana held Angelo back as they were about to leave their transport for their Spartas. "Thank you, Angie," she told him and kissed him lightly on the lips. Without comment, they both left in search for survivors. In Dana's case, the search was for family.

--------------

"Keep together," Commander Scott Bernard ordered his squadron members as he resumed his role as leader. "Protect each other," he added thinking of the Invid, but of Ariel in particular. He wasn't sure it was going to be enough, but it had to be, until he could return them to base.

Right after 09, one by one, Scott's Invid pilots had started showing signs of exhaustion. They lagged behind and reacted slower. _They have been out here too long! _The leader grew worried. _Those counters must be reset..._

"Ma'am," he addressed Captain Cooper, "I'm requesting permission to bring the Invid pilots back."

"Denied," she didn't hesitate to say. "All pilots must keep watch over the recovery teams, Bernard."

"There is something wrong with them, ma'am... Raider 09, his implant..."

Captain Cooper didn't let him finish. She didn't need him telling what he had seen and heard in Dr. Iskandar's lab all over the net. "All right, Bernard, send them back," she agreed. As it was, the Invid had done their part. The drones were harmless and the recovery teams' work was well underway aboard the SDF-3. She had no excuse to keep the aliens out if something was wrong as Bernard had, unfortunately, pointed out.

--------------

An uneasy calm had settled in Grant's control room. Every interferrence-ridden transmission the recovery teams sent was followed with bated breath. The forces had transitioned from a battle to a rescue mission and all personnel eagerly waited for a happy ending for the survivors of the SDF-3. Yet suddenly, things changed.

"General, sir! The mothership is moving," an officer voiced. His startled eyes were glued on a glowing screen, whille it displayed data concerning the mass' movement.

"What?" Vince couldn't believe what he had heard.

"It appears set on a collision course with the SDF-3, sir," the officer elaborated. "It's gaining momentum... like intent on ramming the ship!" The General knew his squadrons could do little to delay, less to stop, such monstrosity.

"The recovery shuttles are still in the fortress!" Sinclair let out while Vince raked his brain searching for a solution.

Without warning, complicating matters further, the innert blobs that littered the battlefield awoke. Freshly revived, the drones launched themselves in random directions: crashing, destroying and firing unscrupulously against anything in their paths.

"The drones! They are back!" Grace Hopkins yelled. She held her headset tightly, while reports from the fighter squadrons came in.

"What? That can't be!" said Christensen.

"What the hell happened? The wave... it deactivated them!" added Cooper.

"It's been confirmed!" Hopkins relayed with dread. "Several team leaders have reported that they are once again engaged in combat with the enemy."

A pilot's image came onto the control room's main screen. "We are under heavy fire! I repeat, we are under fire," he said while avoiding enemy blasts. "The drones' attacks... they are erratic," he added between pants.

On the transmission's background, Vince saw a black void from where blasts emanated like water from a sprinkler. _A drone._

"They are extremely aggressive," the communications officer's voice came. "They seem to be acting independently, but they are causing heavy damage, general!"

"Recall the recovery teams," Vince ordered. "We must get every living being off that fortress ASAP! Order all squadrons to cover them!"

"Yes, sir!"

--------------

The crippled battle fortress bridge shook, scattering equipment and personnel through the floor. Emergency lights went on as Admiral Hayes Hunter's crew climbed back to their stations.

"Damage report!" Lisa asked as sirens wailed nearby.

"We have critical integrity breaches over the ship's starboard hull, admiral. The fortress is going to collapse, ma'am. We must abandon ship at once!"

"How are the recovery transports faring?" Lisa asked, grimly.

"Evacuation is almost complete," Major Sterling announced, running into the bridge, followed by Miriya. Her men waited close by.

"We've come for you, Lisa; it is time to leave," said Miriya.

Lisa didn't answer. She surveyed the destruction of her ship. Fire raged through tunnels and bays; from top to bottom, the motionless SDF-3 was littered with debris; men and women lay dead inside her ship. _Rick..._ Her stoic face became enraged. She wouldn't let the ones responsible go unpunished. _They have to pay!_ she decided.

"Admiral..." insisted Dana.

"Not yet, major." Lisa said.

"But, ma'am... we must..."

_I'm not going down that easy; my ship's not going down easy either! _Lisa turned to one of her officers. "How long until the mothership is upon us?"

"20 minutes at most, ma'am,"

"Major Sterling," Lisa said, determination shone in her eyes. I need you and your men to do something for me."

--------------

The Invid had barely started to head back to base when the alien drones' onslaught started anew. To Scott's chagrin, Grant's order overwrote Cooper's permission. The Invid had to stay and he knew that meant their death.

The vicinity of the SDF-3 wasn't drone-free. Like all other drones, they came back to life, set on causing as much damage as possible. Scott witnessed the maniac way in which they struck the helpless fortress. Despite the SDF's remaining veritechs' efforts to escort the the recovery shuttles to safety, the drones got one. It was destroyed after having just taken off, full of survivors.

"Dana! No!" Scott cried, his way to the fortress was blocked by the enemy. "Major Sterling, do you copy! Major!" he tried to reach her using an open channel.

"Commander, Major Sterling is still aboard the SDF-3," came Grace Hopkins' voice. "They have just informed us that they are loading the last transport. They need cover to get out of there, sir!"

"I'm on my..." he didn't finish, torn. A cry and a blinking light on the front panel of his Alpha further shredded his resolve.

"Ariel!" he heard Uld yell. "She's been hit!" the Invid said, while Scott saw her damaged mecha adrift.

"Raider 03, do you copy?" the commander said, but she didn't answer. "Ariel! Can you hear me?" Panic rose inside of him. He saw she was unconscious, an unresponsive target for crazed drones. This time around, Raider 07 wouldn't be able to come to her aid; the manic drones being more than the Invid could handle in his weakened state.

Faced with an impossible choice, Scott froze. He either covered his sister's transport -perhaps carrying his long-lost parents inside; or helped Ariel, whom he had finally accepted to be in love with.

--------------

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	15. Rescue

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 15**

_**Rescue**_

--

The commotion reigning around the base allowed Dr. Reed to reach his goal without trouble. Dr. Isabel Iskandar's lab grew near and Karl realized that it had to be his lucky day: the door was open. Quietly, he made his way inside.

Contrary to what he had expected -a macabre and dark room- the space was bright, unnaturally so. A soft green glow bathed every object. Over to the right, Reed saw stacks of implants, most likely the source of the strange tint. He scanned the room slowly, taking in the blinking devices to the left. A wall of Iskandar's lab was stacked with them from bottom to top. He wondered how he had missed those before and the answer was quick to follow. There had been a concealing layer covering them, now they were exposed. He came closer and examined the devices; all had numbers and levels; all blinked, nearing their end._ They are counters of some sort,_ he concluded easily, _but what are they counting? _He turned searching for something to understand their purpose. Iskandar was hiding them, they had to be important. He saw the absent scientist's computer and promptly sat in front of it. She was bound to return soon, speed was essential.

Experienced fingers entered commands and the computer responded, yet the mysterious Iskandar hadn't left her secrets unprotected. Reed found layers of encryption and password-protected directories. He sighed; it would take hours to crack them.

On the wall, a counter reached its end. Curious, Dr. Reed stood and watched attentively from the desk. The counter blinked furiously while the levels descended toward total depletion. Suddenly, the terminal's screen displayed a map of dots; Reed assumed the depletion of the counter had triggered an automatic process on Iskandar's computer. Reed bent over and watched the markers moving and blinking in patterns similar to those of the counters. He fixed his sight on the strange diagram and the string of numerical output it showed. It didn't take him long to recognize one of the sequences: Groen's radiation levels. Those dots were implants, implanted-Invid to be precise.

_What have you done, Isabel?_ Reed went rigid and nervously reached a comm device. It was time to tell someone about his suspicions, she had crossed the line.

--

"You didn't think I'd leave you in that bay, did you old buddy?" said Vice-admiral Sterling examining Rick Hunter's waxen face. The unconscious admiral looked worn and grayish behind a protective plexiglass layer. "You'll be fine, Rick, you'll see. Just hold on for a little... will ya?"

"Max!" yelled a voice that Vice-admiral Sterling recognized as his wife's. He turned his sight away from his charge and closed the steps that separated him from her. The pair embraced in the middle of the hectic bay while survivors moved about in a frenzy, filling up recovery shuttles to the brim.

"I'm so glad you're OK," she told him.

"I wasn't about to leave you, Mir." he told her while holding her tightly.

"Is... is that Rick?" she asked, noticing the bulky contraption that her husband had been facing earlier.

"Yes. We managed to take him out of the med bay."

"Is he all right?"

"He's... alive." was all Max said. He then ordered the regeneration chamber to be loaded onto one of the shuttles.

"Come, Miriya. Let's stay with Rick." She nodded but suddenly remembered something or, more precisely, someone.

"Wait! Lisa, does she know?" Max shook his head. "We must tell her!"

"The fires have disrupted communications aboard the fortress. I haven't been able to reach the bridge."

"Lieutenant!" the green haired woman called an officer, "can you reach Major Sterling using your short range transmitter?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Major Sterling?" that threw Max off base. "What Major Sterling?... is it..."

"Yes, Max," Miriya confirmed her husband's unvoiced conjecture. "Our daughter, she's here," she said, still overwhelmed.

"How? It can't be... good God!"

"I'll tell you all I know, but now we must reach Lisa, she's with her."

--

Along a handful of Raiders and openly challenging orders, Scott Bernard rushed the Invid to base. Although his actions would surely earn him punishment, he couldn't standby and watch the aliens under his command -Ariel foremost, he admitted- die.

He was grateful to those few men and women who followed and helped of their own will. Commander Bernard had decided that he alone would take the blame in due time, clearing any other Raider of wrongdoing.

Choosing to leave the recovery shuttle's care, his sister and parent's fate in the hands of others was toilsome. Again, Dana's words had come to his aid at a crucial moment. She had made him promise to keep focused on his mission; for him it meant doing what was right. While the recovery shuttles had lots of fighters to cover them, the Invid had none. The Regiss' offspring had done a lot to change the face of the war and it wasn't fair to abandon them to an unnatural, implant-decreed demise. It was a human invention, after all, what had the aliens on the brink of death. The Invid's sole chance at survival rested on Dr. Iskandar's synchronization chambers and the commander took it upon himself to get his sick pilots to those machines.

Scott had detached Ariel's canopy from her mecha and, as more Invid became lethargic, ordered others to do the same. Although this measure helped, advancing while protecting his precious cargo from the enemy was difficult. The drones attacked and Scott chose to keep his Alpha in guardian configuration. It was the safest way to maneuver, fire and carry Ariel at the same time. He sped, concentrated at avoiding hits, and spared time to aim and fire only when in dire need. His mecha banked and pitched, seemingly following the invisible path of an amusement park ride. Like a pellet trapped in a giant game of pinball, with unpredictable enemy drones as obstacles blocking his way, Scott pushed forward.

Not everyone made it.

"Raider 13!" the commander called, "watch your 5 o'clock!" But the pilot was busy with drones above him. The dark masses closed in from both sides, narrowing the way to the point of impact. They left the pilot no escape route; they all blew up. A derailing shockwave followed and spun the commander's Alpha. He switched to battloid, stabilizing his mecha at the cost of speed. Drones waited and were received with a round of missiles. As soon as a path was clear, he sped again.

The sharp profile of one of the base's hangars loomed and Scott's thoughts concentrated on Ariel. He had previously requested medical teams to receive the sick aliens and hoped they were on site. _Please don't let us be too late_, he prayed, looking at the Invid's immobile form.

Docking procedures were a blur to him. He climbed down from his Alpha and hurried to her. With difficulty, the commander extracted Ariel from the metallic cocoon that enveloped her; the sudden movement roused the female. He removed her helmet and noticed her eyes trying to focus on his face. "You'll be OK," he told her and stroked her hair. She struggled to remain awake as he lifted and carried her to the medics. All around, unconscious Invid were helped out while those who were alert walked out by themselves.

A couple of guards approached the commander as he arrived near the medical teams. _As expected,_ he thought and set on ignoring them. Scott had barely deposited Ariel onto a stretcher when she gasped and held onto his hand. "Don't leave me!" she pleaded. Before he could answer, and out of nowhere, Uld appeared at her side.

"Ariel!" said the Invid male touching her cheek with loving concern. Her hand entwined with the human's didn't escape his notice. Uld looked at Scott as he continued to caress Ariel. His sight was cold and unwavering, unnerving the officer, taunting him.

"Commander Bernard," one of the guards stated rather than asked.

"Yes?" he replied.

"You must accompany us," the man informed him, lowly. Scott nodded while the medics started to move both aliens away. For as much as he wanted, he couldn't go with Ariel. She still held onto his hand faintly but it soon fell out of her reach.

--

The transport's door shut, sealing the vessel after its long-awaited passengers made it inside. Lieutenant Dante had keep the engines running while burning debris fell all around it.

"Glad you'd join us, admiral, major," said Dante with relief after his CO and Admiral Hayes boarded. Dana entered the cabin and sat next to him.

"We haven't made it yet, lieutenant," said the admiral.

"Let's get out of here, Angie!" said Dana, sending one last nostalgic look the way of her abandoned Sparta, helpless in the collapsing bay.

"Prepare for a bumpy ride," Angelo warned as the ship rocked and fled for the bay's exit.

--

For related fan art, visit my website.


	16. Aftermath

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 16**

**_Aftermath_**

--

"Your _direct_ orders were to protect those shuttles!" Captain Cooper yelled. "You chose to disobey and risk our people's lives to save those aliens!"

"Those _aliens_ are our allies and they needed medical attention, ma'am," the handcuffed soldier answered. "It was my duty to--"

"They are Invid for God's sake! They will stab us in the back sooner or later, if given a chance," she said firmly. "No alien is an ally of humanity, Bernard. No alien is worth the sacrifice of one of our own!"

"_One of our own_? What are you talking about?Our forces are made up of a mix of races. The Zentraedi and the Tiroleans have lived among humans for decades now. Themselves, their sons and daughters serve under the RDF."

"Humans have mixed with them," she conceded, "sadly," she added venomously. "Those creatures were capable of encroaching their genes in humanity's pristine pool... for now," her mind seemed to wander to a place Scott didn't want to imagine. "Zentraedi and Tirolean share most of our genetic structure," her mouth twisted downwards in disgust, "which has brought us nothing but legions of despicable half-breeds."

_Despicable half-breeds..._ To Scott those words seemed to resonate off the walls of the small room, worsening an already strong headache. He was one, a half-breed, and he wondered what would the captain do if she knew it.

Cooper paced around the room and turned her back on the restrained officer as she continued. "The slugs are repulsive! No one would attempt to mix with the Regiss' green-blooded spawn. Such an abomination has no place in this universe. I won't allow it!"

--

A narrow hallway had been turned into an impromptu hospital wing. Pale silent aliens waited for their turn in a chamber amidst a pent-up mess of equipment, nurses and doctors. Some were in stretchers, some struggled to keep themselves upright while their senses slowly left them.

Not far away, Uld saw Kooren laying on the floor. She shivered violently when a group of nurses started to tend to her. Through their mental link, Uld noticed she was struggling to keep conscious. Judging by the nurses' expressions, his friend's chances were not good.

Transfixed, the Invid pilot watched a human doctor examining Ariel. She had fallen unconscious shortly after they left the hangars. Her mind was fading and Uld strained his own trying to keep her there. _It is so dark_, she kept repeating,_ I feel so tired..._

Suddenly, the doctor's attention left the resting Invid and fell on her companion. While Uld held ferociously to Ariel, the human directed his instruments at him. The Invid barely felt the examination, his senses were absorbed by the thinning tendrils of Ariel's thoughts. The mental effort combined with the effects of the radiation contributed to Uld's failing to hear the doctor asking him to step aside. "Let go of her!" came next from the impatient human but Uld didn't move. Then, he called for help from behind the obsidian mask of his anti radiation suit. Other humans came to join him and pulled, yanking the unyielding Invid from Ariel's side. Confused, the male was hauled away into a synchronization chamber.

The burden of picking and choosing who went in the chambers first had fallen on the shoulders of the medical chief of staff. He was old and, some thought, wise. Debilitated, the Invid could make little sense of the selection process. It was simple, however. The grim medic was giving priority to those aliens with better chances of surviving; those whose brains had yet to be destroyed by Groen's radiation.

Although Uld had been among the lucky, he didn't feel relief. All the while, until after the door of the chamber cut him off from the noisy environment, he kept his senses fixed on Ariel. Her movements ceased. She lay still and alone exactly where the humans had left her.

--

Scott was tense like an arrow about to be shot. Lorna Cooper walked slowly until she was behind him. "I don't know what sick scheme brought the Invid to assume the human form, but I know the treachery they hide behind that facade." the captain said. "Those blasted shape-shifting parasites wont get a chance to catch us unaware, like others did."

"They're not threats! They're risking their lives to help us!" Scott said turning his head in an attempt to look her in the eye. He caught a glimpse of her profile.

"The slimy cowards don't know that _ the precaution_ we are using in our dealings with them entails some risk--"

"Cowards?" he said angrily. "They don't know how dangerous those implants are, but they know the risks of battle. They put their lives on the line, just like we do. And all you gave them in exchange for their help is a deathly handicap, knowingly. You and that crazed scientist sent them out there to die!"

"You are exhausting my patience, Bernard." she told him. "I had plans for you, commander...maybe you aren't worth the time," she added in a lower tone, but the officer wasn't taking any of it.

"How can you treat them like slaves?" he yelled. "The Invid came here of their own will. How--! I can't believe General Grant would go along with this madness!"

She resumed walking, unfussed by his outburst. "Didn't you learn a thing from fighting against them for years?" she asked. "Don't you know about the vile experiments the Regiss conducted on Earth? Didn't you hear about the torture her research on live humans entailed? Didn't her hordes annihilate entire divisions of our men without remorse? Didn't your own fiancée die among those same divisions, Bernard?" The young officer quieted. "It seems their deaths and suffering didn't mean a thing to you."

"You know nothing about what means a thing or not to me!" he retorted.

"You went out of your way to save their lives -or some of their lives, anyway..." Scott's mind rushed back to Ariel. Had she been treated? Had he brought her on time?

Suddenly the door opened, letting Dr. Iskandar into the room. Scott looked at the new arrival with overt disgust. She smiled a tiny mocking smile that made the officer shudder.

"Ah, Dr. Iskandar. Just the person that I needed," said Captain Cooper.

"Captain," she greeted and looked at Scott.

"We were just discussing your work, doctor," Cooper looked at the prisoner. "I was trying make this soldier see how it serves a higher purpose," she explained.

"All I saw was a way to shackle our allies, force them to do your bidding or die trying!" Scott retorted.

"Our allies, you insist... I guess you won't be getting this through your thick head," she said looking at him in the eye, "we can't trust them or any alien race. Humanity stands alone and always will." Scott saw irrational belief burning in her eyes before Cooper turned away.

"It is murder..."

"Now, now. Don't be dramatic. The implants simply have safety mechanisms. And not all of them will die... those who _unfortunately_ do will do for a greater purpose."

"No life should be sacrificed to appease the whim of a lunatic!"

"Lunatic!" she shrieked. "Their sacrifice will save the lives aboard the SDF3; lives far more valuable than those aliens' or their supporters'." She looked at him hatefully. "There's no place for any friend of an alien among us. Betrayal is a punishable offense," Lorna stated coldly in front of the unflinching officer.

"Do what you will," he said further sparking her ire. In the background, Iskandar's eyes danced as her tiny smile reappeared.

--

"All forces retreat immediately! I repeat, retreat immediately!" Grace's Hopkins' voice boomed into every pilot's receiver. The Robotech forces disengaged from the drones as best as they could and rushed away from the battle zone. The massive SDF-3 agonized at the mercy of its enemy.

Intent on ramming the crippled giant's side, the alien mothership kept its devastating course. Yet, just before destruction tackled the unmoving fortress, its admiral's last order came into effect.

As the last shuttle escaped the carnage, simultaneous explosions went off, blasting the fortress' left hull. The doomed ship was propelled with incisive force. Its front-right side hit the alien ship, embedding itself into it.

Flames flooded every hallway and fed of everything left inside. Living quarters, hangars and control rooms all suffered the same fate. Desks, tables and human remains burned together. The SDF-3's molten innards opened a fatal wound on its monstrous enemy. As the heat wave reached the battle fortress' main furnace, it exploded, disintegrating both colossus in its wake.

--

For related illustration, visit my website.


	17. Losses

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 17**_**  
Losses**_

---------

Hidden behind a pillar, Grace observed and waited. Scott had been taken into custody and was currently held in an interrogation room. She could tell that he would be sanctioned for disobeying, and a jealous part of her thought _he deserves it!_

Grace had seen Scott taking care of the Invid girl – the one with pink hair. _Ariel. Was it?_ He held her gently –_lovingly_– and placed her on a stretcher. Grace couldn't fool herself anymore; his eyes gave away his feelings.

She had suspected something all along, but she thought it was not possible. Scott _Sterling_ hated Invid. It was part of his genes! Yet, the frequent glances he directed at the Invid could no longer be denied. Grace felt crushing disappointment.

Still, she waited and realized Scott's interview with Cooper had dragged on. _Not a good sign, _she thought.

The lieutenant believed that if things got bad for the commander, his family would bail him out. Grace knew the senior Sterlings were alive and well, if just arrived. Unfortunately, they were out of the loop concerning their troubled son. She would have gotten them up to speed regarding Scott's juncture, had the circumstances been different.

Suddenly, Grace felt very guilty. Her unrequited affections didn't make it right for her to stand idly by. Where were her ethics? She was a trained soldier; she should do what was right. It was her duty, engraved into the code of conduct she had sworn to live by.

_Well_, she told herself, _half an hour won't make a difference. His parents will help him out of anything, for sure. Unless_- She shook her head. _I should go to them_, she told herself. But something kept Grace form leaving her hideout. _What's taking Cooper so long? Send him to the brig or release him already! _She huffed.

In the middle of her ruminations, Grace saw Isabel Iskandar show up. She entered the room, leaving two assistants standing guard at the door. _What is she doing here?_ wondered Grace. She had seen the scientist before, usually with Captain Cooper. Each time those bloodshot eyes of hers had set an alarm off in the back of her mind. _Scary woman..._

Minutes passed as the now antsy lieutenant kept her brain occupied speculating. A bad feeling started to swim inside her stomach. Something was going wrong inside that room and she wished she could take a peek. Suddenly, the door opened and Grace instantly stilled.

Iskandar came out first, her assistants entered the room and re-emerged towing an unconscious officer who Grace could easily identify. _That's definitely not good. Not good at all... _Cooper followed and spoke to the scientist. Lieutenant Hopkins couldn't make out the hushed conversation but noticed Cooper was angry. The captain left and immediately Iskandar, her men and their cargo went in the opposite direction.

Grace didn't have time to find the Sterlings, it was up to her to do something.

---------

As soon as the door of the rescue shuttle carrying Admiral Hunter opened, a team of Mars Base's paramedics invaded it. After a brief greeting, the medics went directly for Rick's regeneration module and plugged assorted wires into it. The Admiral was rushed to the intensive care unit, while the remaining survivors inside the shuttle were assessed.

Max and Miriya Sterling were transported to a private room in the med bay where their wounds were examined and treated. Doctor Grant wanted to see them and, while they waited, Max took his wife's hand and held it lovingly. She had not said much since their arrival.

"He is in good hands," he said, thinking their old friend's status worried her. "Jean is taking care of him."

"I know, Max." She looked so sad. "I don't know how Lisa does it."

"She's one strong woman," said Max. Miriya didn't retort and looked away from her husband.

"What is it?" He asked. She did not answer and hid her face with her hands.

"I don't... I don't know what I would do if it was you in that module."

"Come here," he hugged her. They both had experienced much pain after the apparent loss of both their children. For years, each other was all they had. The Zentraedi had always shown a strong facade, but now, it had cracked, exposing a very emotional Miriya. "It's over, Mir. All will be well, it has to be." Max soothed his wife. "Think of the good things to come, think of our daughter. She's with us again, after so many years."

She nodded silently, peered at him and gently caressed his cheek."Thank you, Maximilian."

"Where's my warrior?" he asked. She sighed. "All will be well, you'll see." he whispered and planted a kiss on her green hair. Miriya managed to regain her composure just in time to notice the door of the room slid open.

Dana Sterling crossed the threshold.

"Mom. Dad," the blond woman said simply. Her parents were stunned and still. "Uh..." Dana tried to continue, but her words died in her throat. Miriya rushed to her daughter and hugged her. Dana fell silent while her mother sobbed. The major closed her eyes and felt her dad's arms enveloping both of them. The young woman had so much to tell them, but for a few moments, she wouldn't speak, she just cherished the moment and committed it to memory. _Words are overrated, _she thought.

---------

Admiral Hayes Hunter had lost it.

In a successive, dizzying chain, events unfolded after her rescue transport docked on Mars Base. She was greeted, examined, revered and bombarded with news and status reports. The adrenaline rush that pulled her through the destruction of the SDF-3 had passed and she felt she couldn't handle anything else. All she wanted was being with Rick, but well-meaning people, or needy people, or curious people kept getting in her way. She had enough.

So, she screamed. She screamed hard at everyone, unsure if what came out of her mouth had any coherence to it. It did not matter.

When Lisa spotted Vince Grant's towering frame, she got two things. A fearsome human shield to fend off and discourage onlookers and a sad but comforting smile from a good old friend. To be taken to Rick was the first thing she asked of him; the second was that he took full command in her stead, for a little while.

Off she went to meet her husband, traversing Mars Bases' maze-like tunnels with a modest escort. She did not want chat and was thankful for her silent and serious bodyguards. Their presence was relieving and necessary, but it made her feel constricted during her languishing journey down the base's belly.

At the med bay, Lisa watched Rick's surgery. She arrived in an observation room, high above frantic doctors and their unmoving patient. None of those below could see or hear her, but she could watch and hear everything that went on inside the sterile room. Silence was followed by chipped, short instructions and framed by myriad of low robotic chirping. She wanted to cry, but was not free to do so.

She dismissed her escort with a wave of her hand and they knew better than to disobey the distraught Admiral.

She continued to watch the operation, her face was pale and her mouth, a severe horizontal line. But then, she felt warm tears streaming down her face against her will. _Oh, Rick! I can't see you like this! _Overpowering misery gained control over her stoic self. She had called her stingy eyes back in line so many times in front of the sight of her husband's lifeless form.

Just not this time.

Slowly, the surgery continued and came to an end. When the medics moved away, there Rick lay, free from the chamber that had kept him alive. Lisa's tears died down. Finally, letting go a sigh, Lisa Hayes Hunter regained her center and her strength. She stood tall and serene.

---------

"We couldn't save them, sir," the physician's tone was somber while he studied General Grant with sage old eyes. "The exposure was prolonged; the organ damage by radiation became irreversible."

Vince stood with his hands behind his back. He was rigid, silent and furious. After a quick survey of the hall, he noted the Invid casualties laying on it. Not two steps away, a nurse was covering the body of a pale female with otherworldly-colored hair. Death continued to strike.

"How did things get this out of hand?" Vince asked lowly, more to himself than to the tired medic next to him. He remembered the unexpected call he received from a rattled-looking Dr. Karl Reed.

"Sir, you must recall the Invid. They need to get into synchronization chambers as soon as possible." Vince frowned so Reed continued in a more desperate tone. "The implants will kill them. They _are_ killing them."

"Killing them? Dr. Reed, what are you speaking of?"

"Sir, please, believe me, the implants are dead--"

"We are past that point, Reed! What in Optera's moons is wrong with them!" interrupted an irate General."

"Yes, Sir, sorry... simply put, the implants are releasing Groen's radiation."

"Since when do you know of this?" Grant prodded coldly.

"Almost since the beginning," Reed admitted nervously. Vince's glare, even through the communications monitor, was withering. "Well, what I mean is... I knew about the problems with Doctor Iskandar's _original_ design... early prototypes were found to be deadly for their hosts..."

"Deadly you say? How-- _Who_ did you test them on?" asked the shocked general.

"Well, I... maybe... we can talk about that a little later. You see, Dr. Iskandar--"

"Iskandar... and you!" Vince's face contorted in a rage. "You've purposely deceived me to send our allies to their death!" for a minute, Reed feared the general would attack him on sight.

"No, sir! No!" he defended, "she tampered with the data. The initial problems were corrected! I swear, I didn't know what else she had done! She..." Reed remembered the counters, the blinking, dying lights. "... it seems she planned it, sir. She wanted to control the Invid or... she may have wanted them dead from the beginning."

"What?"

"The proof is in her lab. Sir, there's no time. Please have the Invid brought back."

But Vince didn't need to give that order. Against Captain Cooper's instructions, Commander Bernard brought the aliens back to the ship while Grant and Reed talked. Nevertheless, it was too late by then.

"We did all that could be done, sir," the old medic said, bringing Vince's attention back to the present. The general didn't reply. "Let's focus our efforts on those alive," he insisted.

_Those alive..._ "Indeed," said Grant, with more than the Invid in mind. Iskandar, Reed and anyone else involved in this disaster would be held accountable. Vince suddenly thought of Captain Cooper, who stood vehemently for Iskandar's implant. _Where is she? _He wondered. "Have Dr. Reed and Dr. Iskandar been found?" he asked his right hand man.

"Not yet, sir."

"Hmm... Find and bring Captain Cooper in for questioning as well." he ordered. _I am responsible too,_ he thought. _Yes. _Upon learning about the debacle, Admiral Lisa Hayes Hunter would most likely have his head.

---------

To see this chapter's illustration visit my website.

AN. Thank you, to those sticking with this story, even after so many months without an update. Thanks as well to everyone who left their thoughts in a review and to those who have kindly reminded me to continue writing this tale by other means.

-G


	18. Goodbye

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 18**

_**Goodbye**_

_**---------**_

Balled fists hit the transparent cover of a synchronization chamber. They hit and hit relentlessly until the humans could not ignore the racket. They came, looked and tried to calm the alien; they even told him -slowly vocalizing each word- that the process was not complete yet. Uld, of course, knew that, but paid no heed and increased the tempo of his antics. He punched harder and screamed -howled, was more like it. The unusual reaction got the medics thinking something had to be wrong with the chamber. Baffled, they pressed some buttons and opened the contraption's door just a wedge, but that wedge was all the crazed alien needed to barge his way out.

All attempts to restrain him were futile. Uld was out of that chamber and Ariel was going in.

On his way to retrieve her, a slightly uncoordinated Uld pushed, shoved and knocked down one or two humans. He scanned the room as he went and his eyes stopped on Kooren, on a pallet, dead. Something welled up inside of him and he pressed on. The radiation had damaged his motor skills, yet, commanding his limbs to obey, he reached Ariel and scooped her up.

She was pale and cold, but he knew it was not over. There were thoughts and emotions radiating from her, if very faintly. She didn't want to die, she didn't want to leave _him_. Uld knew unequivocally that the human, Bernard, was the subject of Ariel's dying musings. If a little sting touched his mind, the alien did not hesitate on its account. The bond he shared with Ariel went beyond that.

"Hey buddy! Stop right there," said a soldier, holding his gun at him. Forced to a halt, Uld stumbled.

"She needs it," he wanted to explain, but his tongue felt swollen. He attempted to move forward and the guard trained his weapon on him.

"Let him pass!" came the voice of an old human doctor. "If he is willing to sacrifice himself... so be it." Uld nodded and tried to complete his mission, but the adrenaline that spurred him had run out. He was exhausted and, for a brief moment, felt he wouldn't be able to save her. The medic ordered his assistants to help out.

He fell to the floor as Ariel was taken from him. A human female nurse's knelt down by his side and took his hand in hers. Uld knew there was nothing else she could do for him but offer comfort. Without a chamber to counteract the radiation, he would die. He felt nothing but peace about dieing for her. Perhaps it was time he joined his fallen kin, wherever that might be.

Ariel's sorrow reached his mind once again. Her feelings flowed and hurt him unwillingly while he strained his mind to perceive them. For one brief moment, Uld felt longing. Ariel never had and never would feel that way about him.

His strength was waning and he wanted to let her know how much he cared before it was too late. He realized, however, that his wish was selfish. She did not need to carry guilt if she survived.

He willed his thoughts to reach her mind.

_Fight,_ he told her. _Live._

_Uld? _She recognized him. That alone made his resolve weaken, yet his mind was set.

_Goodbye, Ariel._

_**---------**_

A chirpy, musical beeping broke the tranquility inside the room. Dana Sterling's comm device was receiving a call. From the tune, the major knew it was Angelo Dante; she also knew it was urgent. He would not dare interrupt the long-awaited reunion if it were not. Angie was a sensible man, after all.

Dana hated to break the tender moment she had with her parents Reluctantly she let her arms fall and gently separated herself from their loving embrace. Miriya's face held a surprised expression while Max's face betrayed a little amusement. Only his eldest daughter's comm would have such a ring to it. Dana could guess her father's thoughts and had to bite her tongue not to stick it out at him. She moved a few steps away and took the call. A mostly monosyllabic conversation followed.

"Mom, dad," she sighed, unsure of how they'd handle the news, but sure that they needed to know. "Scott is alive." There, she said it and watched her parents' faces. Max's jaw fell, Miriya gasped and almost fell over weak knees, eliciting her husband to support her firmly in his arms. Before her flabbergasted parents could utter the "what?" that was in their unbelieving minds, Dana decided to elaborate.

"I don't know all the details, but he survived the Invid War." A wave of emotions hit Max and Miriya. "Ever since, he has been stationed on Mars Base, trying to rescue the SDF-3, trying to rescue you, in truth," continued Dana. Her parents were frozen silent and unflappable Dana began to lose her bearings after 30 awkward seconds.

"You two have met," Miriya stated, finally.

"Yes." The couple's barely contained curiosity exploded then.

"When did you meet? asked Max.

"How did you find him?" asked Miriya. "

"Well..." Dana barely put in when Max interjected: "Was he the one to find you?"

"Is he all right? What did he..." the couple continued.

"Mom, dad, please," Dana said while trying to withstand the barrage of questions. "Look, I'll tell you all I know, but one thing at a time in a soft yet firm voice. "He's in trouble." That statement got her parents to still and listen. Dana shook her head. "He's probably going to kill me for telling you... but he's going to need your help." That seemed fair enough to the senior Sterlings. They listened as their daughter related what she knew of her younger brother's quagmire. Dana started by telling them that Scott had been arrested and why. She added that his whereabouts remained unknown from the moment he was taken under the orders of Captain Lorna Cooper.

With one look in each other's direction, Max and Miriya knew perfectly well that they'd do anything in their power to help their son.

_**---------**_

"Don't do this, Isabel," Karl Read pleaded, hands tied behind his back. "Don't add more deaths to the count. Grant knows everything! Don't make it worse for yourself."

"Aw, Dr. Reed, how sweet of you to be concerned about me," she smiled while she signaled her assistants to put Reed down on the floor next to unconscious Bernard. Expertly, she filled a syringe with a toxin that would take care of Reed's loose mouth. "You should have thought of that before snooping around and talking to the general," she told him sweetly. She knelt down next to him and reached for his neck.

"Please Isabel..."

"Those eyes... you're making this _difficult_, Karl_," _she mocked. "But... it must be done," she said as she injected him. She left him on the floor and went about preparing another dose of the toxin for her second captive. "Don't look so sad. I know you worry about me, but rest assured, dear doctor, I'm getting out of here very soon." Karl Reed writhed violently.

Syringe in hand, Isabel Iskandar knelt down and uncovered Scott's neck. It would be quick and definitely more silent than with Reed. "How boring!" she whined, "this one is not even awake..." She had planned her escape long ago, she needed but a couple of minutes to sneak out unseen through a hidden door. She planned to wait out well hidden and rendez-vous with Cooper later. The captain had arranged a safe haven deep inside the base's tunnels. They would transport off Mars after the storm had passed. Iskandar was aware of Grant's men being on their way, but she decided she had enough time for one last thrill at the expense of the military. She couldn't help but want her next victim to be awake, like all others had been. "I have just the right thing for you here, Bernard," she said and raised in search of something to reanimate the soldier.

Iskandar did not know about Grace Hopkins' surveillance; she did not know the lieutenant had called reinforcements long ago, or that at the moment they were just behind the lab's door. Iskandar did not know those last minutes wasted would be her downfall.

The door shattered with a bang. Smoke filled the room along with the doctor's and her assistants' lungs. The military police poured into the lab.

_**---------**_

The warning came as a surprise and Lorna Cooper heeded it, immediately. She had not expected to be sought out by the military police, not so soon at least. Grant knew about the implants and would not hesitate to seize her for interrogation. But she was too valuable and knowledgeable for _them_ to let her fall. Now she waited for instructions. She knew better than to question her superiors' directives, yet she realized that her disappearance would only add to Grant's suspicions. _Suspicions and only that,_ thought Cooper. She had covered her tracks very well. The humans were oblivious to her true nature and the records of her private dealings with Iskandar had been destroyed. No witness remained. The doctor had systematically taken care of them.

_If Cooper's reputation is not worth protecting, my time here must be ending,_ she hoped_. _Anger bit her at the thought of countless hours of careful work wasted with Cooper's incrimination. Fear of betrayal fluttered inside her mind, but she instantly discarded the thought. _They_ had much more to loose by deserting her. The stress was making her jumpy.

Cooper was eager to leave. She wished for retrieval, yet -she frowned, examining her human hand with some sadness; if there was something worth missing about this human body, it would be sensation. Still, curtailing that useless and unnatural longing, she focused on her current situation. Iskandar's no-show at their agreed meeting spot was starting to look troublesome. _Where is that woman?_ the captain wondered, annoyed at the possibility of not being able to tie that loose end before departing.

Yet travel was not in her immediate future.

She heard noises, faint at first, distant but nearing. Voices reached her ears followed by violent banging at her hideout's entrance. She had been found. _They have Iskandar_, she realized. _And the doctor talked, surely_. Willpower could hold nothing to the right drug combination.

"Lorna Cooper, surrender yourself!" a yell came and the door gave in. With at least half a dozen guns pointed at her, Cooper raised her hands. Quickly, they were restrained behind her back. The guards had been warned and personally appointed by General Grant to retrieve her. She was dragged out, carried and left in a room. Her protests came and went unheeded.

Lorna waited for a long time in the dark, sparingly furnished interrogation room. She was aware of being watched as she sat, appearing calm. Inside she seethed, thinking they had betrayed her. She mulled over it, until she heard their voices in her head.

---------

For related art, visit my website. For peeks and progress, visit my journal.

A.N. This chapter wouldn't be out if not for Gaelis, a fellow fan, who got my fic muse on fire! Thanks go to HappyPenguins, as well, for the valuable tip. And big thank-yous to SithKnight-Galen, dwparsnip, Marzan, AdmiralRT and Carrie for your comments. You made my day. :)


	19. Awakening

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

Love looms in times of war  
Chapter 19

**Awakening**

While inside the protective cocoon of a synchronization chamber, Ariel's mind floated adrift. It was dark and silent; but it hadn't always been. Before, she remembered, there was something... someone. _Uld_. He had been there with her.

_Fight_, he told her. _Live_.

Uld anchored her mind and shielded her from the searing radiation. In those moments their minds merged and he knew her thoughts, memories and feelings; he felt what she felt and she what he did. Love as she had come to experience on Earth became known to him. He felt love too and knew her love was not for him. Ariel felt his presence wavering, yet not his feelings. Those feelings would be with her forever. Grief almost overwhelmed Ariel. She wished with all her being for her love to flow to him. But Uld gently receded, reminding her that deception was not possible between them. She struggled to hold on, but he went and calm enveloped her. She felt strangely soothed -that, she thought, was his doing.

_Goodbye, Ariel._

Then nothing.

Ariel felt sadness and loss most of all. She was in and out of consciousness for a while. In those moments when her eyes were open, she saw doctors and nurses working around her. Glimpses of unrecognizable faces leaning close to her cocoon came to her now and then. Strangely, one of those faces she did recognize; it was Grace Hopkins. She couldn't focus to think on it.

Eventually her body healed, sensation and muffled sound returned. Physically whole, she was transferred out of the chamber to a regular hospital room. Promptly after that, she was discharged.

* * *

Blackness became light with jarring speed. Half-open eyelids shut quickly. Teeth clenched while sensations ripped through tender flesh.

Waking up hurt.

Scott chose to ignore that for the time being and instead of heeding his body's warnings, attempted to sit up. Traitorously, his muscles didn't carry him up, so his hand shot out and grabbed the first thing he could take a hold of: an unfortunate nurse. He struggled to speak as the startled woman urged him to settle down. Yet he didn't get a chance to say a thing; too much physical effort too soon did him in. He turned green as woman's fast reflexes turned his head where the least damage would result.

He retched. He coughed and sputtered and was left embarrassed and out of breath. He wanted to apologize, but something gave him pause. This green-haired nurse, who was by now rubbing his back soothingly, looked exactly like...

"Oh dear!" she had tears in her eyes. "Max!" she yelled, "Help!"

"M... mother?" She smiled sadly. "I'm sorry." Scott said, years of sorrow on his voice, "I'm so sorry." He tried to recoil but she wouldn't let him.

"Shush," she said and touched his cheek. "It's all right."

Quite promptly, someone came to take care of the soiled room while Miriya Sterling lovingly cleaned her son's face. He was pushed back to bed gently but firmly and had no opportunity to argue with his Zentraedi mother. Scott could feel how much his mother longed to embrace him -he felt the same urge, but Miriya contained herself. He felt sadness but realized she must have seen the bruises and was thankful for her restraint. As if sensing his thoughts, she took his hand in hers.

"I have missed you so much," her words made him want to apologize yet again. "I want you to know that I'm proud of you," she continued. "All that matters to me is that you are alive, that I can see and touch you now," she said, not tiring of running her fingers gently over his face. Scott closed his eyes.

Max witnessed all from a little distance while Dana and Dante waited by the door. He silently made his way to his son's bed eying his daughter and her ever-present sidekick as he went.

When Scott saw him, they were both too overcome with emotion to speak. Max settled for musing the blue mop of hair on his prodigal son's head. The strands were blue and straight, identical to his own before time faded them to gray.

"Father..." Scott said, voice cracking.

"Extra strong styling gel, still," Max replied, nonchalantly. Scott wished he could smile at the jab.

Dante, having not missed a bit of what was transpiring between the recently reunited members of Dana's family, took the little lull in seriousness to gently nudge her forward. After a look of understanding passed between them, Angelo left the family to their privacy, discreetly closing the door behind him.

The pretty young woman who had been waiting for news about Dana's little brother daily was at her usual spot across the hallway. This time, however, she was tense, bent forward and looking at him anxiously. Maybe just once Dana would show such devotion toward him. That thought dangled in Angelo's mind like the proverbial carrot. He decided to spare the waiting woman some suffering and approached her to share the news.

* * *

After the initial shock of the unexpected reunion passed, Scott was able to relax. He was given a healing and painkiller drug combination. When he regained back some strength, General Grant came to visit. Scott had already told his family everything that transpired to land him in this situation. Yet, he purposely did not mention Ariel and the relationship, or lack of thereof, between them. He wasn't ready and he thought it would be too much to handle -for his mother in particular- at the moment. He repeated the relevant parts of the story for Grant's benefit. Vince looked serious and troubled.

"Lieutenant Grace Hopkins saved your son's life," Vince informed the Sterlings shortly after. He related the events as he had learned them from the military police report.

"We are grateful," said Miriya. "The officer should be commended."

"She will be," assured Vince. Scott mulled this information over until the general addressed him.

"Scott, we have Cooper and Iskandar in custody. Their treachery won't be forgiven or forgotten," he said."What you have told us will grant a special security status for handling Cooper. We need to know who else is involved and who she's been working for. I'll send someone to take a sworn declaration from you," he informed.

"Yes, sir."

The General excused himself at that point. Admiral Hayes Hunter needed to be fully appraised of the situation. Max and Miriya exchanged looks. They hadn't heard news about Rick since they found out about Scott. "I'll leave you to your family and your rest," Grant said and walked away. Max followed him and inquired about his longtime friend's health. After a short exchange the men parted ways.

"What happened to the Invid?" Scott asked.

"Unfortunately, many died from radiation damage," Miriya provided.

Scott went pale. "Your efforts saved a lot of them too, Scott," offered his mother. But there was nothing anyone could do to calm the young man.

"I need to get out of this bed," he said suddenly startling his parents. Both held him down.

"You are not well, Scott! You can't be up and about yet!" scolded Miriya.

"Mother, you don't understand, there's something I need to-"

"You need to lay down until the doctors say you are good to go!" the Zentraedi used a tone Scott had no trouble recognizing. There was nothing to do but comply.

In the meantime, Dana observed and of course knew from where her brother's anxiety stemmed. She pitied him... a bit.

"Mom, there's _someone_ my little brother needs to check upon," she said slyly. Scott groaned.

"Someone?" Miriya raised an eyebrow.

"A young lady?" perked up Max. Dana snorted.

"That would explain the one -pretty- lady we see in the hallway outside your room daily," Max elaborated.

"Oh!" She hadn't counted on her father's noticing that. "Well, she..." Dana mumbled.

"What?"_ Could it be?_ Scott dared to hope.

"If that will calm you, son. Let's invite her in," Miriya intervened.

"No! Mother... well, I mean..."

"Dana, please call this woman," Miriya commanded, undeterred by Scott's shyness. Dana went, trying not to laugh and failing. Scott didn't find any amusement to be had, his pulse appeared to speed up a little.

"Dana, hold on! That's really not necessary!" he put in, yet his words were not acknowledged. Promptly, the lady in question was crossing the threshold.

Nervously, she stood at attention. Miriya Sterling examined her critically.

"Mir," whispered Max. The senior sterlings acknowledged the officer but before an interrogation could commence, Dana intervened.

"I'm famished!" she said, "Mom, dad, let's give these two a moment." Winking at her distraught brother, Major Sterling dragged her parents out.

* * *

As Vince Grant waited inside the antechamber of Admiral Hayes Hunter's office, her door opened, letting impromptu Invid representative Telduint out. The alien acknowledged General Grant's nod in silence but gave the human a long stare of distrust _-the Invid version of anger_, Vince thought. The far reaching consequences of the present debacle came to the forefront of the general's mind.

"She will see you now, general," the admiral's assistant said and Grant marched on, squaring his shoulders he crossed the threshold.

"Admiral Hayes," Vince said.

"General," she paused as they both looked at each other. Dark circles and paleness belying trying times for them both. "It's good to see you, old friend," she said finally.

"It's very good to see you too," he replied. Formality done with, they gave each other a hug.

That said, Lisa and Vince sat down. First on Vince's mind was his friend's husband, Rick Hunter. He gently asked how he was doing after his operation.

"The doctors have repaired his organs as best as possible for the moment," replied Lisa, "he's breathing on his own," Lisa sighed, "the damage to his spine was extensive and some will require multiple surgeries that he can't withstand at the moment." Vince held her hand in his. "He's asleep now, and will be kept that way until he's stronger." Lisa and Vince were silent.

"He will be well again," said Vince

"Yes, we will make it," said she, with bright eyes. "The road to recovery will be a long one."

"Jean and I will be there for you both."

"Thank you," said Lisa.

Lisa and Vince discussed the the Invid situation next.

"You know how very bad it looks, Vince," Lisa said. The general nodded. "There will be plenty of accusations, I suspect from every ally race. As it stands, it seems the RDF used the Invid as expendable in an operation to save the flagship for humanity. The fallout will be a PR nightmare. The Invid representative has let me know that his kin want to leave as soon as it can be arranged," she told him.

Vice reported on the state of health of the Invid. "Has the Regess been contacted?" he asked.

"Telduint didn't give me a straight forward answer to that question," she replied. "I suspect that they haven't been able to reach her. Perhaps they aren't strong enough at the moment. But it is a matter of time."

"In the meantime, I've assured Telduint we will do all in our power to help all Invid who want to leave and to restore the health of those who need further assistance," Lisa said.

"Needless to say I want the situation handled with utmost care, Vince. The Invid might have left their queen, but their link to the Regess is always present. Another confrontation with her must be avoided at all costs."

"Understood."

"Now, tell me what is going on with Cooper and Iskandar."

"Dr. Iskandar gave us information, but she is mentally unstable. Facts have to be crosschecked for fantasy to be weeded out from reality. Her testimony might be void and Cooper has not cooperated so far. But Scott Bernard -_Sterling_," Vince amended to Lisa's surprise, "has given us testimony enough to prosecute both of them."

"Scott Sterling? Here?"

"Yes. Currently hospitalized thanks to Dr. Iskandar and Captain Cooper. His parents are with him."

"How is he?"

"Out of danger as far as I could see when I visited."

"Some good news at last," the admiral said. "I'm glad for Max and Miriya. This is remarkable," she added.

Vince agreed wholeheartedly and the conversation returned to Dr. Iskandar and Captain Cooper.

"Given what we know, Lorna Cooper should see how cooperating is in her best interest. We have her, to break her silence willingly might make the sentence lose some of its severity."

"Arrange for a visit, General Grant. I want to see these women."

* * *

Mars base was full of places where a being such as Lorna Cooper could escape with relative ease. But not yet; Lorna had orders before her stay with the humans could end. Her associates' assistance for a safe retrieval depended on her doing as required. She had meant to do it, anyway; it was not a choice now. The chance to carry out her last mission wouldn't fail to present itself, Lorna was certain. And with a little luck it wouldn't take much longer.


	20. Freedom

Disclaimer: I do not own Robotech or its characters. This fan fiction was written for entertainment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

**Love looms in times of war**

**Chapter 20**

**Freedom**

* * *

Luckily for Scott, the time between his mother requesting the mysterious woman to come in and it actually happening was short. He tried to remain calm, lest a beep from a vital signs monitor prevent the meeting. All he had wanted since he woke was to see Ariel.

But, to his surprise -and continued quiet monitoring- the woman who had waited each day outside of this room was not the Invid. He should have known.

Grace Hopkins blushed and shrank under his parents' scrutiny. It was just curiosity, Scott knew, but his mother's stare never failed to intimidate. Dana grinned and herded the older Sterlings out of her convalescing brother's room.

Finally, Grace's eyes descended on him. She looked relieved once the others left and even managed a tiny smile.

"Grace..."

"Commander, I'm glad to see you awake."

Scott was silent, ordering his thoughts took longer than he wished. He didn't expect Grace Hopkins to be his visitor and she didn't fail to notice his discomfort.

"This is a bad time, I should go," she said.

"No, no, it's fine," he replied and they fell silent.

"I guess this has taken both of us by surprise," she restarted.

"It has, I'm sorry. I'm glad to see you, Lieutenant," he spoke, "thank you for all you did." She nodded, bit her lip and kept quiet.

"I owe you..." he started again.

"No, you don't. Not really," she said. "Look, Scott," she sighed. "What I did," she paused, "it was my duty. I might have thought otherwise at some points, but I know differently now."

"General Grant was here, I know what happened. You tracked them day and night, alone, risked yourself. You went beyond your duty," he said.

"Maybe," she conceded, "but it was the right thing to do. Besides, wouldn't you have done the same for a friend?" She left it at that and he understood. She came closer slowly, then she offered him her hand; he shook it. After, she hugged him gently and he held her too. The _it wouldn't have worked,_ went unsaid.

"I know who you care about," she whispered. "She survived," Grace assured him. "She's fine."

"Thank you," he said softly, deeply relieved for the first time since regaining consciousness.

* * *

Cooper heard the guards coming for her.

"Take the prisoner for questioning," said one. "Admiral's orders"

_Opportunity, you have come!_ Lorna thought and she precisely mapped the route in her mind.

She remained calm and apathetic as the guards undid her bindings. She was quiet as they hoisted her up and re-bound her wrists behind her back. The guards flanked her. She walked across the room and out the thick doors.

Outside, amidst two other guards, was Isabel Iskandar. _Handy_, she thought as guards and prisoners walked in a tight unit and had to suppress her glee from showing. _Flashier too,_ she continued to savor her plans.

Unbeknownst to her guards, Lorna carefully morphed her hands, they shriveled as if boneless, rendering her restraints useless._ Who knows, maybe I'll manage to throw Hayes Hunter or Grant in as a bonus!_ But she didn't want to get too far ahead of herself.

Lorna knew the base well. Once inside the isolated interrogation room it would be too late. She had seconds to act while she stood at the threshold of her destination.

With no regards to her current body, Lorna Cooper made a show of inhuman strength. She backed up violently onto the guard closest to her and removed his gun from his hands. His companion shot her, and while the impact did slow her down a fraction, she still blasted away with the stolen gun. Isabel Iskandar was at close range.

Lorna's eyes searched for Hayes Hunter. _Wouldn't it be a blow to the humans if their beloved leader just died? Oh yes, it would!_ Yet, the admiral's guards reacted and shot Cooper over and over again. She fired and several fell, but she did not reach her intended second target. Even with her unnatural strength her body finally succumbed.

"Medic!" a voice called as Iskandar's and Cooper's unmoving bodies lay on the floor. Cooper had been shot repeatedly, as was her intention. Her blood pooled and seeped under the porous floor right in front of the entrance of the interrogation room.

It was emerald green.

Over gasps and stunned silences, Lorna Cooper's body started to shrivel as it emptied.

_Free_, she thought as she scurried away beyond her captors' reach.

* * *

Since Ariel woke up, the Invid finally had a conduit to communicate with the Regess. Even though all Invid shared a link with their mother, those links were not equally attuned. Ariel, as the first stage five Invid, possessed the strongest link among them. But knowing the risk of igniting the Regess' ire, Ariel had taken care of lessening the animosity between surviving Invid and their former allies before contacting her mother. She stressed the efforts a lot of humans did to save and restore them. Her attempts to paint the situation fairly met with success and even some Invid, those with stronger human attachments, chose to remain. She had been meeting those Invid for several days, to aussage their doubts or simply support them.

_Will you be joining us?_ Telduint asked.

_Not at this time,_ Ariel replied and sensing he was about to argue, made her determination known to him. Previous to their meeting, she had been busy writing to her friends on earth. She has just finished reading their letters and watching a holovid of Rook and Rand's little girl. Just the memory made her happy and a little unguarded with her thoughts. She couldn't bear the idea of not ever seeing them again some day. Telduint felt it.

_Sooner or later they will turn on us, on **you**_. _Their kind can't be trusted,_ Telduint insisted, but without much force. He realized the futility of his efforts.

He turned to leave and the door opened to show another visitor waiting.

_Telduint,_ Ariel called, stopping him, _please don't spark the Regess' ire. We have lost enough_, she pleaded.

She sensed Telduint considering her words, but then he resumed walking._ Be safe Ariel,_ was his goodbye.

_Likewise,_ she wished. For a moment, she looked at the pictures on the table. But remembering someone was waiting, she looked up to greet the person.

It was Lieutenant Grace Hopkins.

* * *

"Invid!?" Miriya went rigid and Max, who sat next to his wife, immediately put his hand on her back. Slowly he rubbed circles on it. It never failed to calm her, but it had to be done very subtly.

Scott knew his Zentraedi mother wouldn't be pleased, but Dana had convinced him that the sooner the cat was out of the bag, the better. Now, he was beginning to doubt it. It was too soon to tell them and it was too much. His face fell. One more disappointment, he thought and almost voiced it. Scott missed the look that passed between Max and his wife.

His mother reached out to touch and comfort him.

"You caught me by surprise, my son," she said taking a deep breath. "If you are as much in love with this woman as it appears, she must be something special."

"She is, mother."

"Then I will be happy to meet her and know her better," she said. Miriya Sterling was not going to allow anything to get in the way of having her son back in her life. It was time to close rifts, not to open new ones.

"A the moment we are not exactly in friendly terms. But I hope in time, I'll be able to introduce her to you both as such."

It warmed Miriya and Max's hearts to see their son spirits lifted.

"Can you tell us about her? What is her name?" Max asked.

"Ariel," Scott provided.

"And she's pretty," Dana offered jovially. She appeared along with Angelo Dante and seemingly in a very good mood. Angelo politely greeted all present.

"Well, I'm glad your announcement is all out of the way, little brother. Feels good, doesn't it?"

Scott snorted. "You have no idea. But where were you guys? A little late for lending support, don't you think?" Scott said but he was smiling, he was too happy for serious recriminations to his sister.

"Well, I'm a busy girl, Scott. I haven't been laying around off duty on account of recovering or something like that," she stuck her tongue out. Dante chuckled.

"So, sweetheart, it's been a day for announcements, "Max decided to intervene. "When are you going to make yours, I wonder?" He eyed his daughter and Angelo Dante amusedly. That comment and those looks turned Miriya's head in Dante's direction. Her gaze morphed instantaneously from a mildly interested one into a full critical examination. He straightened up.

"Daaaad," Dana whined. "Can you believe him, Angie? The nerve!"

"Actually, _sweetheart_, I have been wondering the same thing..." Dante teased.

"Angelo Dante! Don't encourage him!" Dana laughed, but didn't fail to notice the look in Angelo's eyes. He was dear to her, and he was good for her. Yes, maybe an announcement of their own would follow shortly.

"Careful what you wish for, Angie, " she said, but instead of the trademark smirk that would have followed a comeback like that, she gave him an honest smile.

"My God, I haven't recovered enough for this," complained Scott.

Dana threw a pillow at her brother.

"Children!" that was Miriya.

* * *

The sound of her heels as she walked was met with silence. The last stretch of hallway leading to her destination was empty. Lisa liked her privacy. Security was very strict, but she had crossed the last checkpoint. With each step she took a breath. She left behind her work and its crises, a myriad complaints and decisions that awaited her; she forgot alien paranoia and war nightmares. Then the door opened in front of her and she crossed it, feeling lighter.

"Good evening, Admiral."

"Good evening, nurse Romero," she replied. "How were things today?"

"Very peaceful, Admiral. All continues to evolve well." Lisa nodded.

"I'll take over, Flora. Get some rest," Lisa smiled.

"See you tomorrow, Admiral," Flora said.

Lisa Hayes hummed a tune as she went around the room. She took of her jacket and put down her work pad. She quietly got off her heels and felt much more comfortable. She fiddled with the light settings until she was satisfied. "You always told me that you love it when I hum to myself," she told the man on the bed as she moved to check the room's temperature controls. Lowering the current setting by half a degree she added, "that should be perfect, love. I know you prefer the room temperature on the fresh side," she smiled.

But he remained still, sleeping peacefully. Lisa could see the gentle movement of his chest with each breath he took. _All by himself,_ she mused. Where she should have been discouraged and broken at his lack of response, she felt hopeful. He was out of danger, now he just had to recover. She sat on the sofa bed that had become her home away from home. Jean had it moved closer to Rick's bed. Lisa held his hand. It was big in hers and not that cold._ All will be well,_ my love, she thought.

"I'm here, Rick," she told him and squeezed his hand lightly. "I need you," she added. At first she thought she had imagined it. Then she felt it again. Lightly, barely, Rick squeezed her hand back.

* * *

"Dr. Einsler, what news do you have?"

"General, it's all very preliminary, but a few things have been ruled out."

With Karl Reed's demise, Mars Base was using the brilliance of Dr. Enisler, rescued from the SDF-3, on the quest to unravel the mystery of Lorna Cooper's curious aftermath and rather familiar colored blood. The doctor showed Vince Grant his team's work on a video screen.

"This here is a tissue sample from Lorna Cooper's days at the academy," Einsler showed. "100% human," he explained. "Now, this one here is Invid tissue sample," he pointed to another graph. "This third one was recovered from the remains of Captain Cooper."

"Those last two are very similar," concluded Vince.

"Yes, but not identical," the scientist superimposed the images."See the marker here and the one here?" Vince nodded. "The tissue on the second Cooper's sample is not Invid, it's synthetic. The captain, or her replacement, I'd say, was created. "

"This thing was produced?"

"Yes General, and what's worse, there might be more of them."

* * *

Around them, planets and stars shone behind the transparent dome cover of an observation platform. They were alone.

"You stayed... why?"

"I have my reasons," she said trying to keep calm. "They are not what you're thinking," she added at the intent look he gave her.

"And what am I thinking?" For a moment Scott wondered if Ariel could actually read his mind.

"What you are probably thinking." She turned away from him. _I can do this,_ she told herself, just like she had repeated in her head after she finally accepted meeting him for something other than strictly work-related issues. She understood that they needed to feel at ease with each other in order to work together. She wanted to show him that she could behave with professionalism, no matter what happened with both their personal lives.

"I saw lieutenant Hopkins," she said.

He cleared his throat. "Oh..."

"We had a conversation," she said. _Mostly one sided_, she thought. He loves you, Grace had said bluntly. _You can't leave_, the human had added and earnestly tried to persuade Ariel -who wasn't planning to leave at all- to remain on Mars. During her speech, Grace had also revealed Scott's true parentage. _Half Zentraedi!_ Ariel was still shocked; a lot of things started to make more sense, and yet, she realized, another great obstacle existed between Scott and her. _Why are you telling me all this?_ Ariel had asked. _Do Invid believe in Karma?_ Grace had said and then left Ariel to contemplate her words.

"But that doesn't really matter," The Invid told Scott. _That's not good_, he thought. "What matters is that she seems to care a lot about you -"

_Is she trying to give her blessing?_ Scott thought. _That's is **definitely** not good._

"- and to be a very nice human."

"Hmmm, yes... I have learned to appreciate Grace," he said. "She saved my life."

"I heard," but she wasn't looking at him.

"There' s nothing more than friendship between Grace and I," he told her prompting her to look back at him. "She knows my feelings always belonged to someone else," he elaborated but stopped short of voicing the "to you" that was on the tip of his tongue.

The confirmation of Hopkin's revelations scared away Ariel's speech. _It must be true_. Sticking to her original plan would be difficult.

"Why did you stay Ariel?" he asked again.

"I told you I wanted to help end the war. I meant it. I'm here to protect earth," she sounded convinced, yet...

Earth was visible among the silent stars in front of them. "So you're staying to protect it..." he said, looking at the blue planet. _Among other things_, she thought but just nodded.

"My friends... Our friends are there," she said.

"I miss them," he told her.

"Rand and Rook had a baby girl. I have pictures," she told him.

"I'd love to see them," he said, she offered to forward them.

Conversation was at a standstill again.

"I wanted to say that I'm very sorry about the friends you lost, about Uld," he told her. He might have hated Uld's guts for a while, but Scott was grateful for what the Invid did for Ariel.

She nodded. The memory of Uld's sacrifice intruded painfully. Uld had sacrificed himself for her to live, and she couldn't but feel the weight of it. "About what you saw-" she choked. "It was not like that... We weren't..."

"I'm very sorry." He moved her towards him and was surprised when she did not resist. He hugged her. "You don't need to explain," he whispered.

She cried. Her tears were for Uld, for Koreen, for Scott and for herself too. "It's not your fault," she said. "You did all you could to help all of us." He held on until she calmed. "Uld… " she whispered while nested in his arms. " I couldn't return his feelings."

He brought his face to hers. "Look at me Ariel," he said and gently caressed her cheek. "I know it is too late. I have no right, after what I did and the things I said to you, but I have to tell you this. I was mad that you put yourself in danger," he started. "From the moment I left you with Lunk and Annie, I just wanted you safe, away from battles and death. Imagining you happy and protected kept me sane all these months. When I saw you here, that hope went away. I wanted to protect you at all costs but I was worried and pushed you away. And you almost died."

She remained silent while she relished the comfort he was giving her and slowly let herself relax in his arms. They stayed like that for some time.

"I read your letter," she revealed after a while.

"I wasn't sure you ever would. When did you read it?" he asked softly.

"Just before I got implanted."

If her reading it was a good or a bad thing, he was not sure. He was sure, however, that his feelings had since become much clearer. "I wrote it because I thought I'd never see you again," he said.

"I know," she gently caressed his arm. Her gesture was soothing.

"If I had to do it all over again -" She stilled. "- I would not let myself cling to hate, I'd let myself love again, sooner."

She burrowed deeper into him. It felt good to be this close, this calm with him. _Professional intentions be dammed._

"If you let me," he paused. "I will make it up to you, Ariel, I promise," he said.

"I'm planing to let you", she told him lastly.

* * *

70R[\]4 examined her new body. She extended her consciousness and felt all her circuits working in the proper order. Mechanical perfection she was. No needs, no feelings, no sensation. It was relieving to be free. Yet, deep in the recesses of her new robotic processing units, she would miss that organic shell she had left behind.

"You seem distracted," 71S3|| addressed her.

"Merely assessing the new me." After a bit, "so, are your operatives in place?"

"Exactly as planned," was the reply.

Were she still organic, 70R[\]4 would have smiled.

* * *

_The end._


End file.
